Posted on December, 09 2014

2015 will be a key year for fisheries management in EU waters. Under the new CFP, 2015 is the date by which Member States have committed to end overfishing, but is also the year that will witness the first implementation stage of the Landings Obligation to end the waste of fish.

A key challenge to meet when European Fisheries ministers meet to set Total Allowable Catch limits (TACs) for 2015. They must demonstrate that the CFP was not a paper tiger reform. The new CFP entered into force in January 2014 and asks ministers to ensure that their decisions on fishing opportunities fully respect one of the core objectives of the reform: to end overfishing whenever possible by 2015 and on a progressive, incremental basis at the latest by 2020 for all stocks. Therefore Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) exploitation rate has to be restricted to the level which enables the stock to regain or stay above its full reproductive capacity. 

WWF is challenging Fisheries Ministers to negotiate the December Council with a view to delivering the progressive commitments they made under the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) reform. These include sustainably managing fish stocks and minimising the impact of fisheries on the wider marine environment and in doing so contributing to the delivery of Good Environmental Status of European seas and beyond.

Read more: WWF’s Position on December Council TAC Decision for Atlantic/North Sea fish stocks