Case C-330/22 on fishing opportunities and the 2020 MSY Deadline

The CJEU ruled in case C-330/22 that the EU Council has a margin of discretion to set TACs above scientific advice for by-catch stocks within multiannual plans to avoid premature fishery closures. However, the Court affirmed that for target stocks, the MSY deadline is a strict obligation with no flexibility to depart from scientific advice. This overturned an earlier Advocate General's opinion which argued that the 2020 deadline applied to all stocks without exception.

• The CJEU determined that for target stocks covered by the Western Waters Regulation, the MSY Deadline in Article 2(2) of the CFP Basic Regulation applies strictly, meaning the Council has no flexibility to depart from ICES headline advice.
• For by-catch stocks within the scope of the Western Waters Regulation, the CJEU ruled that the Council possesses a margin of discretion to set TACs above ICES headline advice to account for the difficulties of achieving MSY for all stocks simultaneously and to prevent the premature closure of fisheries.
• The Court validated four specific TACs (West of Scotland Cod, Celtic Sea Cod, Irish sea Whiting, and Plaice) because the Council met four criteria: using ICES by-catch estimates, aiming for good biological status, setting TACs at or below by-catch estimates, and adopting remedial measures.
• The judgment overturned the Opinion of Advocate General Tamara Capeta, who had argued that Article 2(2) of the CFP Basic Regulation removed the Council's discretion and that no exceptions to the 2020 deadline existed for by-catch stocks in mixed fisheries.

APA

Meeus, A. (2023). Case C-330/22 on fishing opportunities and the 2020 MSY Deadline. ClientEarth. https://www.clientearth.org/media/c34hqfxk/analysis-of-the-judgment-friends-of-the-irish-environment-v-ireland-from-the-court-of-justice-of-the-eu-on-unsustainable-fishing-limits.pdf

Chicago

Meeus, Arthur. Case C-330/22 on fishing opportunities and the 2020 MSY Deadline. ClientEarth, 2023. https://www.clientearth.org/media/c34hqfxk/analysis-of-the-judgment-friends-of-the-irish-environment-v-ireland-from-the-court-of-justice-of-the-eu-on-unsustainable-fishing-limits.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Meeus |first1=Arthur |title=Case C-330/22 on fishing opportunities and the 2020 MSY Deadline |publisher=ClientEarth |date=January 2023 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/c34hqfxk/analysis-of-the-judgment-friends-of-the-irish-environment-v-ireland-from-the-court-of-justice-of-the-eu-on-unsustainable-fishing-limits.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{meeus2023case, author = {Meeus, Arthur}, title = {{Case C-330/22 on fishing opportunities and the 2020 MSY Deadline}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2023}, month = jan, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/c34hqfxk/analysis-of-the-judgment-friends-of-the-irish-environment-v-ireland-from-the-court-of-justice-of-the-eu-on-unsustainable-fishing-limits.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }