The NGO, Our Fish, has criticised the European Commission’s lack of ambition in its timetable for reaching the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) for managing fish stocks.
In its response to the public consultation on fishing opportunities for 2019, the Our Fish NGO said that it was disappointed to see that the Commission was behind in its Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) targets to eradicate overfishing and for using stocks sustainably by 2020 at the latest (see EUROPE 12038).
The services of the Commissioner for Fisheries, Karmenu Vella, admitted that for both biological and socio-economic reasons, it would be difficult to imagine the possibility of reaching the MSY targets for 2020 for all stocks. The number of total allowable catches (TAC) respecting the MSY targets increased in 2018 from 44 to 53, which only accounts for 69% of the EU’s TAC.
The Our Fish organisation’s contribution explains “We urge the Commission to advocate, unequivocally, for the full and in time implementation of the CFP”. This organisation is also concerned by the problems and delays in the implementation of the landing obligation for all fish caught (an end to discards at sea) and the flexibility to be granted in 2019 for total allowable catches (TAC). To read the contribution by Our Fish, please see http://our.fish/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/OurFish-submission-to-DG-Mare-on-2019-fishing-opportunities_Aug2018.pdf. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)