According to the European Commission, the “imbalance between fishing opportunities and fleet capacity has undermined the positive impacts of the plan and delayed stocks’ recovery at a severe cost to fishers’ livelihood”, as set out in a report published on Monday 29 July on the implementation of the management plan for demersal stocks in the Western Mediterranean.
Nevertheless, the Commission “acknowledges the ongoing effort of the fishing sector and stakeholders to reduce pressure on fish stocks based on scientific advice”.
In 2020, only 5% of demersal stocks (one in twenty) had a fishing mortality rate close to the maximum sustainable yield (MSY). Today, 28% of the stocks that have been the subject of an analytical assessment have a fishing mortality rate at the MSY level, and 57% are rapidly approaching it.
These improvements are welcomed in the report, but some stocks, such as European hake and one stock of Norway lobster, remain heavily overexploited against a backdrop of overfishing and environmental change, deplores the Commission.
According to the Commission, the plan has proved to be a “beneficial” framework for implementing the Common Fisheries Policy and achieving the MSY by 1 January 2025 at the latest.
In five years, between 2020 and 2024, the plan has achieved better fisheries control and a 40% reduction in trawling effort (see EUROPE 13312/6), according to the report (https://aeur.eu/f/d5p ). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)