On Friday, 28 June, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) confirmed that the North Sea cod population had collapsed and recommended reducing cod catches by EU fishing vessels by 70% for 2020.
NGOs Oceana and Our Fish reacted quickly, asking European Fisheries Ministers to follow this scientific advice when making their decisions at the end of December by drastically reducing fishing quotas for North Sea cod.
Oceana believes that “cod is in a dire situation in EU waters”, pointing out that, in April, ICES requested a zero total allowable catch (TAC) for the cod stock fished in the Eastern Baltic (see EUROPE 12277/2).
Oceana is also calling on EU ministers to meet the 2020 deadline for achieving stock management in line with the principle of maximum sustainable yield (MSY).
Oceana notes that the North Sea cod stock stood at 270,000 tonnes in the 1970s, but had fallen to just 44,000 tonnes by 2006. In the autumn, the European Commission will present its proposals on TACs and quotas for the Atlantic and North Sea for 2020. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)