What is the ‘best available scientific advice’ for setting Total Allowable Catches (TACs)?

The document asserts that ICES headline advice is the most reliable scientific basis for setting TACs in the EU, as it aligns with the Common Fisheries Policy's requirements for sustainability and the precautionary approach. It argues that these figures represent a maximum limit rather than a target, and that TACs should often be set below this level to account for ecosystem needs, climate change, and data uncertainty.

• The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) provides the 'best available scientific advice' for setting TACs because it is an independent scientific body recognized internationally and by the EU, maintains a Memorandum of Understanding with the EU, and uses public, up-to-date scientific data and methods.
• Under the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) Basic Regulation, decision-makers must prioritize several sustainability objectives when setting TACs, including the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) objective, the precautionary approach, and an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management.
• ICES uses two primary frameworks to provide catch advice: the 'ICES MSY approach' for stocks with full data and the 'ICES precautionary approach' for stocks with limited data, both of which rely on measuring fishing mortality (F) and spawning stock biomass (SSB).
• The headline catch advice from ICES should be treated as a maximum limit that must not be exceeded, rather than a target; TACs should frequently be set below this level to protect less abundant stocks, account for climate change, and manage uncertainty.

APA

ClientEarth (2020). What is the ‘best available scientific advice’ for setting Total Allowable Catches (TACs)? https://www.clientearth.org/media/4ctbgip3/what-is-the-best-available-scientific-advice-for-setting-total-allowable-catches-tacs.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. What is the ‘best available scientific advice’ for setting Total Allowable Catches (TACs)? 2020. https://www.clientearth.org/media/4ctbgip3/what-is-the-best-available-scientific-advice-for-setting-total-allowable-catches-tacs.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=ClientEarth |title=What is the ‘best available scientific advice’ for setting Total Allowable Catches (TACs)? |date=December 2020 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/4ctbgip3/what-is-the-best-available-scientific-advice-for-setting-total-allowable-catches-tacs.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{clientearth2020what, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{What is the ‘best available scientific advice’ for setting Total Allowable Catches (TACs)?}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2020}, month = dec, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/4ctbgip3/what-is-the-best-available-scientific-advice-for-setting-total-allowable-catches-tacs.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }