In a judgment handed down on Thursday 11 January, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that European fisheries ministers would be breaking the law if they approved the overfishing of ‘target stocks’. However, in its judgment (C-330/22), the Court failed to apply this rule to by-catches (stocks that are not targeted by fishermen).
The NGO ClientEarth felt that the ruling provided clarity: in future, it will be illegal to approve the overfishing of target stocks. “However,...