After two days of intense negotiations, EU Fisheries Ministers reached, on Thursday morning, 17 December, unanimous political agreement on the Total Allowable Catches (TACs) and quotas for more than 200 stocks in the Atlantic, North Sea, Mediterranean and Black Sea for 2021. Agreement was also reached on catch volumes for deep-sea species for 2021 and 2022.
Talks dragged on not over provisional quotas for stocks shared with the UK (25% of 2020 volumes for the first three months of 2021, with exemptions for certain stocks), in a delicate context of negotiations on future relations with the UK, particularly on fisheries, but because of differences over fishing arrangements in the western Mediterranean. A compromise has been reached on a 7.5% reduction in fishing effort (number of days spent at sea) in the western Mediterranean.
Shared stocks. More than 100 of these stocks in the Atlantic and North Sea are managed between the EU and the UK. Due to the ongoing negotiations between the EU and the UK on their future relations, ministers decided to set provisional quotas for these species under shared management. These provisional quotas are intended to ensure the continuation of activities until the conclusion of consultations with the United Kingdom. A similar approach has been adopted for stocks co-managed with Norway.
The provisional quotas, as we had anticipated, are set as follows: a proportionate roll-over of existing fishing opportunities in 2020 for the first three months of 2021 at 25% of the TACs. Ministers agreed on certain exceptions to this approach based on seasonality (certain stocks are mainly fished at the beginning of the year e.g. mackerel and blue whiting) and scientific advice (drastic cuts for some stocks e.g. northern prawn).
Mediterranean. Ministers decided to reduce the fishing effort by 7.5% in 2021 for the so-called demersal species in the western Mediterranean. The Commission proposed a 15% cut, but Spain, France and Italy fought for a smaller cut. When the Commission presented conditions (technical measures) in exchange for a 7.5% reduction, France and Spain agreed, but Italy did not. Italy would have preferred a 10% reduction in fishing effort without these technical measures (areas closed to fishing, improvement in the selectivity of fishing gear, etc.)
Virginijus Sinkevičius, the European Commissioner for Fisheries, was disappointed by this compromise. “I regret that the ministers were not ready to agree on more ambitious effort reductions that would have allowed us to restore the fish stocks to sustainable levels and to ensure the long term socio-economic viability of the fishermen and women operating in the region. However, I welcome the fact that the reduction in effort is accompanied by additional national measures to protect the stocks“, he said.
To consult the TACs in the Atlantic: https://bit.ly/3aiCQ3D
And those for deep-sea species: https://bit.ly/3aig2Bd
NGOs disapprove. For the NGO Our Fish, the EU Council’s decision to “continue overfishing in its own waters is a shameful decision that undermines global progress” on sustainable fisheries management, said Rebecca Hubbard.
Of the TACs set for around 30 fish stocks, it appears that 30% have been set at levels that exceed the advice of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES).
For the Kattegat cod and roundnose grenadier stocks, ICES had advised a TAC of zero, but the EU Council authorised by-catches. The NGO Oceana criticised the 7.5% drop in fishing effort in the western Mediterranean. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)