Deep-sea stocks

The briefing argues that deep-sea fish populations in European waters are either depleted or lack sufficient data for assessment, making them exceptionally vulnerable to over-exploitation due to slow growth and late maturation. It criticizes EU and UK ministers for setting fishing opportunities above precautionary scientific advice from ICES and STECF. The document recommends setting fishing opportunities below single-stock advice, implementing zero-catch Total Allowable Catches (TACs) for endangered species like roundnose grenadier, and enhancing the protection of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs). It emphasizes that these measures are necessary to meet obligations under the EU deep-sea fisheries Regulation 2016/2336, the UK Fisheries Act, and UN General Assembly standards.

• Deep-sea fish species are highly susceptible to over-exploitation because they are typically slow-growing, long-lived, and late maturing, which results in limited productivity and recovery capacity.
• Deep-sea habitats, specifically Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs), are prone to damage from fishing activities that may take centuries to recover.
• EU and UK fisheries ministers have frequently ignored precautionary advice from the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) and the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) by setting fishing opportunities too high or removing Total Allowable Catches (TACs).
• The document recommends establishing zero TACs and zero bycatch quotas for deep-sea species identified as threatened, vulnerable, or endangered, specifically mentioning the roundnose grenadier, orange roughy, and deep-sea sharks, rays, and chimeras.
• Current management of deep-sea fisheries is described as failing to meet international standards set by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and the 1995 UN Fish Stocks Agreement.

APA

ClientEarth (2025). Deep-sea stocks. https://www.clientearth.org/media/mivild1w/joint-briefing-series-recommendations-on-fishing-opportunities-briefing-11-deep-sea-stocks.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. Deep-sea stocks. 2025. https://www.clientearth.org/media/mivild1w/joint-briefing-series-recommendations-on-fishing-opportunities-briefing-11-deep-sea-stocks.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=ClientEarth |title=Deep-sea stocks |date=July 2025 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/mivild1w/joint-briefing-series-recommendations-on-fishing-opportunities-briefing-11-deep-sea-stocks.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{clientearth2025deepsea, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{Deep-sea stocks}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2025}, month = jul, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/mivild1w/joint-briefing-series-recommendations-on-fishing-opportunities-briefing-11-deep-sea-stocks.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }