Recommendations for Setting Fishing Opportunities for 2021 for the UK Government

The Marine Conservation Society, ClientEarth, and Oceana urge the UK Government to align 2021 catch limits with scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) to end overfishing. The authors advocate for the use of Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY), the implementation of Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) for depleted stocks, and a more ambitious bycatch-only limit for seabass. They emphasize the need for a precautionary approach to deep-sea stocks and the transition of non-quota species to TAC and quota management to address biodiversity and climate emergencies.

• The authors recommend that the UK Government ensure catch limits do not exceed the Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) as assessed by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), or the precautionary advice where MSY is unavailable.
• For depleted stocks, including North Sea cod and various stocks in the Celtic and Irish Seas, the authors call for the development of precautionary recovery plans and the mandatory use of Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) with cameras on vessels over 10m.
• The document argues that deep-sea fish stocks in the Northeast Atlantic are particularly vulnerable due to limited productivity and recovery capacity, noting that most 2020 Total Allowable Catches (TACs) exceeded ICES scientific advice.
• Regarding seabass, the authors recommend a more ambitious bycatch-only limit of approximately 1000 tonnes for 2021, rather than the 1680-2000 tonnes recommended by ICES, to better support the fragile stock.
• The authors state that over 30% of assessed stocks of interest to the UK had catch limits set above sustainable levels in 2020, excluding most non-quota fish and shellfish.

APA

ClientEarth (2020). Recommendations for Setting Fishing Opportunities for 2021 for the UK Government. https://www.clientearth.org/media/fhkl3mdm/joint-recommendations-for-setting-fishing-opportunities-for-2021-uk-gov.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. Recommendations for Setting Fishing Opportunities for 2021 for the UK Government. 2020. https://www.clientearth.org/media/fhkl3mdm/joint-recommendations-for-setting-fishing-opportunities-for-2021-uk-gov.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=ClientEarth |title=Recommendations for Setting Fishing Opportunities for 2021 for the UK Government |date=November 2020 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/fhkl3mdm/joint-recommendations-for-setting-fishing-opportunities-for-2021-uk-gov.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{clientearth2020recommendations, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{Recommendations for Setting Fishing Opportunities for 2021 for the UK Government}}, publisher = {ClientEarth}, year = {2020}, month = nov, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/fhkl3mdm/joint-recommendations-for-setting-fishing-opportunities-for-2021-uk-gov.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }