Taking stock 2020 - are TACs set to achieve MSY?

The report finds that the EU missed its 2020 deadline to end overfishing, with nearly half of the analyzed TACs for 2020 still exceeding scientific advice. It highlights a systemic failure to follow precautionary advice for data-limited stocks and a tendency to prioritize target stocks over bycatch stocks. The analysis identifies specific Member States—including France, Ireland, and Spain—as frequently pushing for unsustainable catch limits based on unsubstantiated socio-economic claims. The document also criticizes the lack of transparency in the TAC-setting process and the potential for misleading reporting by the European Commission.

• The European Union failed to meet the 2020 deadline to end overfishing, as progress in setting sustainable TACs has been too slow. For 2020, 48% of agreed TACs still exceeded scientific advice, and nearly one fifth (19%) of the overall TAC tonnage consisted of limits set above scientific advice.
• There is a significant disparity in how scientific advice is followed based on the type of assessment available. While 75% of 2020 TACs for stocks with full MSY-based assessments followed scientific advice, only 29% of TACs for stocks with precautionary advice did so.
• Decision-makers prioritize target stocks over bycatch stocks, with the latter being treated with lower ambition. In 2020, the percentage of TACs exceeding scientific advice and the average percentage difference per comparison were both considerably higher for bycatch stocks than for target stocks.
• The Council frequently ignores scientific advice when it recommends a cut in catch limits. Between 2019 and 2020, 81% of agreed TACs exceeded scientific advice in cases where a cut was advised, compared to much higher compliance when rollovers or increases were advised.
• The landing obligation's implementation is flawed, creating risks of overfishing. The report notes that TACs are set based on total catch advice, but poor compliance and unreported discards, combined with a lack of clarity regarding deduction amounts for exemptions, undermine sustainability.
• The TAC-setting process suffers from a systemic lack of transparency and accountability, which the European Ombudsman confirmed as maladministration in 2019. The Council has failed to implement recommendations to publish documents and detailed minutes of the December Council meetings.
• Certain Member States—specifically France, Ireland, Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium, and Portugal—have been more vocal in pushing for TACs above scientific levels, often using socio-economic claims that lack compelling evidence.
• The European Commission's reporting on progress towards MSY is potentially misleading. By focusing on volumes of landings rather than the number of stocks and excluding stocks without MSY-based advice or shared stocks, the Commission presents an overly positive picture.
• Several fish stocks remain in a dire state, below the limit reference point for biomass (Blim). These include Irish Sea and Celtic Sea whiting, cod in the Celtic Sea and west of Scotland, and plaice in the southern Celtic Sea.

APA

ClientEarth (2020). Taking stock 2020 - are TACs set to achieve MSY? https://www.clientearth.org/media/zimpo1cz/taking-stock-2020-are-tacs-set-to-achieve-msy-ce-en.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. Taking stock 2020 - are TACs set to achieve MSY? 2020. https://www.clientearth.org/media/zimpo1cz/taking-stock-2020-are-tacs-set-to-achieve-msy-ce-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=ClientEarth |title=Taking stock 2020 - are TACs set to achieve MSY? |date=October 2020 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/zimpo1cz/taking-stock-2020-are-tacs-set-to-achieve-msy-ce-en.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{clientearth2020taking, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{Taking stock 2020 - are TACs set to achieve MSY?}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2020}, month = oct, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/zimpo1cz/taking-stock-2020-are-tacs-set-to-achieve-msy-ce-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }