Recommendations to the EU on the setting of fishing opportunities for 2022

The document argues that the EU has failed its legal obligation to end overfishing by 2020 and calls for 2022 Total Allowable Catches (TACs) to be set strictly within scientific advice. It emphasizes the need for a precautionary approach, better implementation of the Landing Obligation, and the prioritization of depleted stocks over short-term economic profit. The authors also urge the EU to ensure that negotiations with third parties, such as the UK and Norway, adhere to the sustainability objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy.

• The EU missed its 2020 legal deadline to harvest all fish stocks sustainably, with overfishing rates increasing in some areas; for example, the Northeast Atlantic and North Sea overfishing rate rose from 38% in 2018 to 43% in 2019.
• For the 2020 deadline, 46% of Northeast Atlantic Total Allowable Catches (TACs) were set above scientific advice, a trend the NGOs urge the EU to reverse for 2022 by setting limits not exceeding the best available scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES).
• The document recommends creating a "climate buffer" by setting TACs below maximum catch advice for species that are particularly vulnerable to climate change to enhance population resilience.
• Widespread non-compliance with the Landing Obligation (LO) allows for unsustainable catches; the authors recommend setting TACs lower than ICES maximum catch advice to account for this failure and making quota "top-ups" conditional on demonstrated vessel compliance via Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM).
• In mixed fisheries, the EU has historically prioritized productive or profitable stocks, often leading to fishing mortality rates that exceed scientific advice for at-risk species to avoid closing the fishery.
• Several key stocks are critically depleted, including North Sea cod, Celtic Sea cod, West of Scotland cod, Irish Sea whiting, and West of Scotland and West of Ireland herring, necessitating a priority on recovery over short-term profit.
• The authors call for increased transparency in the decision-making process for fishing opportunities, including the publication of documents related to the TAC Regulation and transparency in negotiations with the UK, Norway, and other coastal states.

APA

ClientEarth (2021). Recommendations to the EU on the setting of fishing opportunities for 2022. https://www.clientearth.org/media/dfefbkki/joint-ngo-recommendations-to-the-eu-on-fishing-opportunities-for-2022.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. Recommendations to the EU on the setting of fishing opportunities for 2022. 2021. https://www.clientearth.org/media/dfefbkki/joint-ngo-recommendations-to-the-eu-on-fishing-opportunities-for-2022.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=ClientEarth |title=Recommendations to the EU on the setting of fishing opportunities for 2022 |date=September 2021 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/dfefbkki/joint-ngo-recommendations-to-the-eu-on-fishing-opportunities-for-2022.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{clientearth2021recommendations, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{Recommendations to the EU on the setting of fishing opportunities for 2022}}, publisher = {ClientEarth}, year = {2021}, month = sep, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/dfefbkki/joint-ngo-recommendations-to-the-eu-on-fishing-opportunities-for-2022.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }