NGOs call on you to set sustainable, ecosystem-based fishing opportunities for 2025

A group of NGOs is calling on the EU and UK to adopt precautionary, ecosystem-based fishing limits for 2025. They argue that current practices often exceed scientific advice, undermining biodiversity and climate resilience. The letter demands catch limits well below single-stock advice, full implementation of the western Mediterranean multiannual plan, and increased transparency in negotiations.

• The NGOs argue that current scientific advice for catch limits and fishing effort restrictions does not fully account for ecosystem integrity and dynamics, leading to fishing opportunities that are often set at or above this advice, which threatens long-term ocean health.
• Data indicates significant levels of overfishing in the Northeast Atlantic and the Mediterranean and Black Seas, with 30% and 61% of fully assessed stocks respectively still subject to overfishing. Additionally, less than half of the 2024 catch limits involving the UK followed scientific advice.
• The coalition recommends setting catch limits well below the single-stock advice provided by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) to maximize ecosystem productivity and resilience to climate change, regardless of whether the advice is based on Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) or a precautionary approach.
• The document calls for the full implementation of the western Mediterranean multiannual plan (West Med MAP) to achieve sustainable exploitation rates by 2025, including the adoption of legally-mandated safeguard measures and new technical measures to reduce juvenile bycatch.
• The NGOs advocate for a precautionary approach to forage fish and mixed fisheries, specifically calling for the support of sandeel fishing closures in the UK and Scotland to protect the food supply for seabirds and marine mammals.

APA

ClientEarth (2024). NGOs call on you to set sustainable, ecosystem-based fishing opportunities for 2025. https://www.clientearth.org/media/4kynic0e/ngo-letter-to-eu-and-uk-on-fos-for-2025-commission-version-final.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. NGOs call on you to set sustainable, ecosystem-based fishing opportunities for 2025. 2024. https://www.clientearth.org/media/4kynic0e/ngo-letter-to-eu-and-uk-on-fos-for-2025-commission-version-final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=ClientEarth |title=NGOs call on you to set sustainable, ecosystem-based fishing opportunities for 2025 |date=12 September 2024 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/4kynic0e/ngo-letter-to-eu-and-uk-on-fos-for-2025-commission-version-final.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{clientearth2024ngos, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{NGOs call on you to set sustainable, ecosystem-based fishing opportunities for 2025}}, publisher = {ClientEarth}, year = {2024}, month = sep, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/4kynic0e/ngo-letter-to-eu-and-uk-on-fos-for-2025-commission-version-final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }