Joint NGO feedback to the European Commission on the Common Fisheries Policy’s state of play and orientations for 2023

A coalition of NGOs urges the European Commission to end overfishing by setting Total Allowable Catches (TACs) strictly within scientific limits and transitioning to low-impact, climate-friendly fisheries. The group highlights significant implementation gaps in the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), particularly regarding the landing obligation and the failure to meet the 2020 goal of sustainable harvesting for all stocks. They advocate for an ecosystem-based approach that accounts for climate-driven species shifts and the use of remote electronic monitoring to combat illegal discarding.

• The European Union failed to meet its legal obligation to harvest all fish stocks sustainably by 2020, with significant regional disparities: while overfishing in the Northeast Atlantic decreased from 75% in the mid-2000s to 28% recently, 85% of assessed stocks in the Mediterranean and Black Seas remain overfished.
• The NGOs argue that fisheries management must be aligned with the European Green Deal to address the climate crisis, as overfishing undermines the resilience of marine ecosystems. They propose that the Commission request Ecosystem and Climate Impact Assessments from ICES to create a roadmap for a transition to low-carbon, low-impact fisheries.
• Current Total Allowable Catch (TAC) settings often ignore the precautionary approach, particularly for data-limited stocks. The NGOs recommend that TACs should not exceed scientifically advised levels based on the Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) approach or the ICES Precautionary Approach when MSY data is unavailable.
• The implementation of the landing obligation (LO) is described as poor, with common non-enforcement by Member States. The NGOs warn that setting TACs based on total catch advice rather than landings advice, while illegal discarding continues, risks unsustainable catches that exceed scientific limits.
• The document highlights a dependency on Russian fish imports due to depleted domestic cod populations, noting that Russia is ranked second in the IUU Fishing Index and that its fisheries subsidies promote overcapacity.
• To improve monitoring and compliance, the NGOs call for the implementation of remote electronic monitoring (REM) for all vessels above 12 meters and for high-risk vessels below 12 meters.

APA

ClientEarth (2022). Joint NGO feedback to the European Commission on the Common Fisheries Policy’s state of play and orientations for 2023. https://www.clientearth.org/media/y45lvaos/ngo-feedback-to-ec-annual-public-consultation-on-cfp-fishing-opportunities_20220819-final.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. Joint NGO feedback to the European Commission on the Common Fisheries Policy’s state of play and orientations for 2023. 2022. https://www.clientearth.org/media/y45lvaos/ngo-feedback-to-ec-annual-public-consultation-on-cfp-fishing-opportunities_20220819-final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=ClientEarth |title=Joint NGO feedback to the European Commission on the Common Fisheries Policy’s state of play and orientations for 2023 |date=19 August 2022 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/y45lvaos/ngo-feedback-to-ec-annual-public-consultation-on-cfp-fishing-opportunities_20220819-final.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{clientearth2022joint, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{Joint NGO feedback to the European Commission on the Common Fisheries Policy’s state of play and orientations for 2023}}, publisher = {ClientEarth}, year = {2022}, month = aug, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/y45lvaos/ngo-feedback-to-ec-annual-public-consultation-on-cfp-fishing-opportunities_20220819-final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }