Author: admin

Dublin 29 October, 2020:- In an unprecedented response to the recent decision by Ireland’s High Court to overturn the ban on fishing vessels larger than 18m from operating within six nautical miles of the coast, 15 fishing and environmental organisations, have come together for the first time to call on Ireland’s Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue to take the steps necessary for the ban’s reinstatement [1,2].

The letter, sent to the Minister this morning, jointly signed by National Inshore Fisherman’s Association (NIFA) and National Inshore Fishermen’s Organisation (NIFO), Birdwatch Ireland, An Taisce, Cork Environmental Forum, Cork Nature Network, Coomhola Salmon Trust, Environmental Pillar, Friends of the Irish Environment, Irish Seal Sanctuary, Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, Irish Wildlife Trust, Oceana, Seas at Risk, Sustainable Water Network (SWAN) and Our Fish, points out that the policy directive, introduced in 2018, “was one of the most important fisheries policy shifts in the history of the Irish state and was broadly welcomed as being the right decision from a social, economic, environmental and a social justice perspective”, and was backed by expert analysis by the Marine Institute and the Bord Iascaigh Mhara (see full text of letter below) [3].

“When Michael Creed TD announced his decision to launch a public consultation that ultimately led to the directive, he was very clear that he wanted to create opportunity for the inshore sector. The manner he planned and subsequently created that opportunity also had far reaching environmental and socio economic benefits for our marine environment and wider coastal communities and economies”, said Alex Crowley of the National Inshore Fisherman’s Association (NIFA) and National Inshore Fishermen’s Organisation (NIFO) [4]. “On that basis the proposal and the subsequent decision was broadly welcomed and supported by a broad spectrum of interests.”

“The fishing industry and environmental NGOs are often portrayed as opposing forces, however the reality is they have a common goal or vision for a healthy marine environment, therefore the issuing of this joint statement should come at no surprise”, continued Crowley. “Inshore fishers are acutely aware of the need for a healthy marine environment to support their businesses and way of life. As an economic sector and as a sector in society we are particularly exposed to negative environmental impacts.”

“Beneath the waves, a biodiversity crisis has been unfolding for many years”, said Fintan Kelly, Policy Officer at Birdwatch Ireland. “Overfishing has hollowed out marine ecosystems, and as fish stocks have collapsed, it is having a direct impact on the Irish fishing communities that depend on them. Ireland can and must do better. We are calling on Minister McConalogue to take decisive action to prioritise sustainable fisheries management in Ireland’s inshore waters on behalf of the vast majority of Irish fishers and coastal communities, instead of the demands of a privileged minority”

“The Minister must take steps to ensure that a ban on large trawlers within the 6 nautical mile  limit is brought into effect as soon as possible, while ensuring that all affected stakeholders are afforded the right to consultation as highlighted in the court ruling”, concluded Kelly.

“This is a classic case of a technicality tripping up a brilliant idea. The Irish government can realise the huge environmental and social benefits of protecting Ireland’s coastal waters from industrial fishing and deliver on their ambitions to halt the biodiversity and climate emergency, by taking the necessary legal steps to reinstate the ban as a matter of priority”, said Rebecca Hubbard, Program Director of Our Fish. “Reinstating the ban would actively help support hundreds of low-impact fishers and their coastal communities, deliver massive environmental benefits, and set an impressive example for other European countries to follow”.

The letter to Minister McConalogue can be viewed here 

ENDS

Contacts

Dave Walsh, Our Fish Communications Advisor, +34 691 826 764, dave@our.fish

Fintan Kelly, Birdwatch Ireland Policy Officer, +353 (85) 129 5849, fkelly@birdwatchireland.ie

Notes

[1] Below is the letter sent to Minister Charlie McConalogue:

Joint statement in relation to the High Court Judicial Review on restrictions on trawling activity inside the 6nm limit

Dear Minister McConalogue,

Responding to news that Ireland’s High Court has found that the ban on vessels larger than 18m from operating within the country’s six nautical mile inshore waters was void and of no legal effect, our organisations representing the interests of a healthy marine environment and a sustainable inshore fishing sector call on you to take the necessary steps to reinstate the ban.

The policy directive introduced in 2018 was one of the most important fisheries policy shifts in the history of the state and was broadly welcomed as being the right decision from a social, economic, environmental and social justice perspective. According to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the majority of the over 900 stakeholder submissions made in response to the Minister’s review of fishing access inside the 6 nautical mile zone (6nm zone) supported restrictions on large trawlers based on environmental, economic and gear conflict issues.

The rationale behind the ban was supported by expert analysis by the Marine Institute and the Bord Iascaigh Mhara. These reports highlighted that restricting the access of larger vessels inside the 6nm zone would lead to improved protection of coastal environments and essential fish habitat, benefitting marine biodiversity and commercially exploited fish stocks. They highlighted the socio- economic benefits for the smaller inshore vessels, that constitute the vast majority of Ireland’s registered fishing vessels. The potential benefits included diversification opportunities, more jobs, and added value of landings. Improved management of inshore waters could be achieved by aligning fishing more closely with local ecological and environmental objectives and by reducing conflict between mobile and static gears. For coastal communities and consumers benefits could include a strengthening of the link between local fish resources and local economies with spin-off benefits for the sustainability of supply chains and local businesses.

All these potential benefits remain within reach. It is deeply disappointing and extremely worrying to us that the new dawn in the management of our inshore environment is under threat from what

appears to be a technicality. The Policy Directive created a huge opportunity for the inshore sector and if that opportunity is to be denied, then the sector in its current form faces a very uncertain future and possibly a complete collapse.

We call on you to take decisive action to prioritise sustainable fisheries management in Ireland’s inshore waters in the interest of the vast majority of Irish fishers, coastal communities and marine wildlife, instead of the demands of a privileged minority.

Signed by:

Shane McIntyre, Director, National Inshore Fisheries Organisation

Alex Crowley, General Secretary, National Inshore Fisheries Organisation &  National Inshore Fisheries Association

Kieran Healy, Director, National Inshore Fisheries Association

Gary Freemantle, Interim CEO, An Taisce

Nicolas P. Williams, CEO, Birdwatch Ireland

Derry O’Farrell, Director, Cork Environmental Forum

Gill Weyman, Chair, Cork Nature Network

Mark Boyden, Director, Coomhola Salmon Trust Ltd., Chair Sustainable Water Network

Karen Ciesielski, CEO, Environmental Pillar

Tony Lowes, Trustee and Director, Friends of the Irish Environment

Johnny Woodlock, Board Member, Irish Seal Sanctuary

Dr Simon Berrow, CEO, Irish Whale and Dolphin Group

Pádraig Fogarty, Campaign Officer, Irish Wildlife Trust

Pascale Moerhrle, Executive Director, Oceana in Europe

Rebecca Hubbard, Program Director, Our Fish

Monica Verbeek, Executive Director, Seas at Risk

Download the letter:

https://our.fish/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Letter-to-Min-McConalogue-Re-High-Court-JR-on-restrictions-on-trawling-activity-inside-the-6nm-limit.pdf

[2] “A High Court judgment from Justice Michael McGrath has found that the ban on over 18mtr vessels fishing inside the 6 mile limit is void and of no legal effect.”

“The judgement follows from an application for a judicial review taken by Tom Kennedy and Neil Minihane against the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine over Policy Directive 1 of 2019. The directive was introduced by Minister Michael Creed on 5th March 2019.”

The Skipper, October 7, 2020

https://theskipper.ie/high-court-overturns-6-mile-ban/

Our Fish and Birdwatch Ireland, October 13, 2020: Minister McConalogue Must Take Steps to Reinstate Ban on Trawlers in Coastal Waters to Ensure Ireland’s Sustainable Fisheries

https://our.fish/press/minister-mcconalogue-must-take-steps-to-reinstate-ban-on-trawlers-in-coastal-waters-to-ensure-irelands-sustainable-fisheries/

 

[3] These statistics and data are supported by the following reports:

BIM (2018) Economic analysis of trawl and seine fisheries within the Irish 6nm zone https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/media/migration/customerservice/publicconsultation/review6nmzone/4EconomicAnalysisTrawl270418.pdf

Marine Institute (2018) Trawl Fishing in Waters Inside 6nm around Ireland, Fisheries Ecosystems Advisory Services Marine Institute

https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/media/migration/seafood/sea-fisheriespolicymanagementdivision/publicconsultations/completedpublicconsultations/2TrawlFishinginWatersInside6nm171218.pdf

Marine Institute (2018) Fishing patterns and value of landings for vessels, greater than 15m in length, with higher than average fishing activity in waters inside 6nm, Fisheries Ecosystems Advisory Services https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/media/migration/customerservice/publicconsultation/review6nmzone/3FishingPatterns270418.pdf

 

[4] Minister Creed provides increased protection to waters inside Ireland’s 6 mile limit – benefits for inshore sector, ecosystem and nursery areas, 21 December 2018

https://merrionstreet.ie/en/News-Room/Releases/Minister_Creed_provides_increased_protection_to_waters_inside_Irelands_6_mile_limit_%E2%80%93_benefits_for_inshore_sector_ecosystem_and_nursery_areas.html

 

About Our Fish

Our Fish is working to end overfishing and restore a healthy ocean ecosystem. By collaborating with others, and deploying robust evidence, we are calling for an end to overfishing as a critical and significant action to address the biodiversity and climate crisis. https://our.fish

 

About Birdwatch Ireland

BirdWatch Ireland is the largest independent conservation organisation in Ireland. We work with all stakeholders to improve marine conservation and sustainable fisheries policy in Ireland and Europe.

https://birdwatchireland.ie/

NGO Recommendations for deep-sea fishing limits 2021-2022 »

October 22, 2020: – Responding to the European Commission’s proposal for deep sea fishing limits for 2021-2022, published today [1], NGOs welcome the positive steps towards following scientific advice. However, the proposal does not go far enough to ensure protection and allow the recovery of these very sensitive and unique species, some of which are the most vulnerable known to humankind. NGOs urge European decision-makers to set fishing limits for deep sea fish populations in line with scientific advice, the precautionary approach and considering the negative impact of fishing for these species on fragile deep-sea ecosystems [2].

The proposal so far includes concrete figures only for the 3 deep sea stocks that are fished by the EU alone. The remaining 6 deep sea stocks shared with the UK will be discussed between the EU and the UK, who will have to work together to ensure sustainable management of deep-sea stocks in the Northeast Atlantic.

“We welcome the European Commission’s proposal, which seems to follow the scientific advice for black scabbardfish in the Bay of Biscay, Iberian waters and in Azores and for red seabream in Atlantic Iberian waters.”, said Gonçalo Carvalho, Executive Coordinator, Sciaena. “We expect the EU to similarly follow the science on all the other deep sea fishing limits, both internally, but also in the discussions with the UK, as this is the only way to ensure healthy deep sea fish populations and ecosystems.”

“We consider that the Commission should have followed scientific advice for roundnose grenadier in Skagerrak and Kattegat by proposing no catches of this stock” said Andrea Ripol, Fisheries Policy Officer of Seas At Risk. “In fact, it should be questioned if the EU should at all be requesting scientific advice on ‘sustainable’ catches and recommending licensing the legal hunt of a species classified as ‘endangered’ on the IUCN Red list [3]. Ignoring the endangered status of sensitive species runs counter to the EU Biodiversity Strategy key commitments for 2030 to restore marine biodiversity and ecosystems”, she added.

“We are highly concerned with the lack of management of deep-sea sharks” says Irene Kingma of the Dutch Elasmobranch Society. “The proposed removal of the exemption for shark catches in longlines is a positive step that should be followed up with the development of protective measures and enhanced data collection for these extremely vulnerable species. The Commission and member states committed to this in 2016 but to date no actions have been proposed.”

“Besides all the social and environmental outstanding challenges that member states must deal with, 2020 is also the Common Fisheries Policy’s legally binding deadline to follow the scientific advice and ensure proper management of public marine resources”, said Lydia Chaparro, Fisheries Policy Officer at Fundació ENT. “Restoring ocean health is feasible, but only if urgent action is taken. On the contrary, ignoring science and its precautionary advice will make it even more difficult, and costly, to face the challenges that continue to affect the health and the future of these fragile ecosystems.”

“Due to Brexit, as of this year more than 60% of the deep-sea fish stocks managed through catch limits will require an agreement between the UK and the EU. Therefore, the status of deep-sea stocks and the habitats in which they live will depend mostly on the cooperation between both parties” explained Javier López, Campaign Director for Sustainable Fisheries at Oceana in Europe. “A non-cooperation scenario in which both parties would unilaterally set catch limits can only result in widespread overfishing that would not only be destructive for the vulnerable deep-sea ecosystem but also for the fishing fleet. We urge the UK and the EU to find an agreement on catch limits based on environmental criteria and governed by the best scientific advice.”

Deep sea fish species tend to be slow-growing, late-maturing and long-lived [4], which makes them exceptionally vulnerable to overexploitation. Some of the commercially exploited deep sea species live up to 80 years, and some only reach reproductive maturity after many years. As a result of knowledge gaps and of serious deficiencies in their management, most deep‐sea stocks in Europe are severely depleted or in unknown condition, which also puts the viability of the fishing communities that depend on them at risk. That is why NGO also call for taking action to fill data gaps and to urgently adopt and fully implement recovery and management plans for some of the most threatened species, such as deep-sea sharks [5].

NGO Recommendations for deep-sea fishing limits 2021-2022 »
ENDS

 

Contacts:

Andrea Ripol, Fisheries Policy Officer at Seas At Risk, aripol@seas-at-risk.org, 0483 457 483

Emily Fairless, Communication officer, Oceana, efairless@oceana.org, +32 (0) 478 038 490

Gonçalo Carvalho, Executive Coordinator, Sciaena, gcarvalho@sciaena.org, +351 936 257 281

Irene Kingma, strategy and policy lead, Dutch Elasmobranch Society, kingma@elasmobranch.nl, +31 6 4826 3524

Lydia Chaparro, Fisheries Policy Officer at Fundació ENT, lchaparro@ent.cat, +34 657 361 673

Matthew Gianni, co-founder Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, matthewgianni@gmail.com, +31 646 16 88 99

 

 

Notes:

[1] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM:2020:666:FIN

[2] In June 2020, ICES Advice for deep sea species confirmed that most deep sea fish populations remain in worrying condition and with insufficient data to properly assess them.

[3] https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/15522149/45136880

[4] ICES, Working group on the biology and assessment of deep-sea fisheries resources (WGDEEP), Volume 2, Issue 38, 2020 page 1: “Deep-water stocks have overall lower biological productivity than continental shelf and coastal stocks.”

[5] NGO recommendations for deep-sea fishing limits 2021-2022.

 

Luxembourg, 20 October 2020:- Environmental NGOs this morning welcomed the decision of EU Fisheries Ministers to set Baltic fishing limits for 2021 in accordance with scientific advice for eight of ten fish stocks in the Baltic, but reflect that this result is largely due to the strong position of the European Commission, and warn that today’s result is still not enough to save the herring, cod or Baltic Sea ecosystem and communities that depend on them [1].

Even with no fishing on Eastern Baltic cod, the stock will not recover for years, unless more efforts are made to secure its habitats, food and breeding grounds. Ecosystem needs can only be met if these are fully taken into consideration; currently, the setting of fishing quotas plays only a small but crucial part. EU fisheries management must start incorporating ecosystem and climate impact assessments, and monitoring and control needs drastic improvement to ensure rules are being followed.

“We are disappointed to see how EU fisheries ministers ignored the progressive proposal from the European Commission on Baltic sprat fishing limit, which took into account wider ecosystem considerations and interactions between this species and the Eastern Baltic cod population – one of the founding objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy”, said Ottilia Thoreson, Director, WWF Baltic Ecoregion Programme. “On the other hand WWF welcomes the science-based decision ministers took last night to set eight out of the ten stocks within scientific recommendations.”

“Baltic member states have made a satisfactory compromise regarding scientific recommendations on catch limits for many of the fish stocks. However, decisions on iconic species like Western Baltic herring and Eastern Baltic cod have not met the necessary ambition to adopt catch limits and additional measures that will contribute to firmly curbing their dire status, which is undermining the credibility of the member states.” said Javier López, Campaign Director for Sustainable Fisheries at Oceana in Europe “The poor status of the marine ecosystem in the Baltic makes fisheries management challenging, which is why it is particularly relevant to set catch limits for fish populations in line with scientific advice and reflecting wider ecosystem considerations”.

Andrea Ripol, Fisheries Policy Officer at Seas At Risk said: “We are supportive of the progress and ambition shown by Fisheries Ministers to recover the good status of many Baltic fish populations. However, we cannot miss the fact that Fisheries Ministers allowed the population of Western Baltic Herring to be overfished again in 2021, ignoring for the third year in a row scientific recommendations to close its fisheries due to the critical state of this fish population. Allowing overfishing of European fish stocks is illegal since January 2020. This is thus an irresponsible, illegal and unacceptable decision that overshadows the good progress made on other fish populations.”

“It’s hopeful to see the Council acting along the lines of the recently signed Our Baltic Ministerial Declaration by staying the path drawn up by last year’s Council. We must applaud the Commission for their original proposal. The agreed fishing levels are not perfect, but do signal that fisheries ministers share our sense of urgency. Unfortunately this is not enough and more measures and hard decisions are needed to face the fact that the fishery of the past is gone, and the fact that the fish are worth more alive than on the deck of a trawler”, said Nils Hoglund, Fisheries Policy Officer, Coalition Clean Baltic [2].

“Instead of wasting valuable time haggling during all night circuses, EU fisheries ministers should set fishing limits in light of the ecological crisis faced by the Baltic, and the ocean and climate worldwide, and in line with the commitments they’ve made through the European Green Deal and the UN Biodiversity Summit. By continuing to push fish populations to their very limits and beyond, we fail to change the future for Baltic Sea health, and cause continued pain and suffering for its coastal communities. It’s clear fisheries ministers are not up for the job – EU Prime Ministers must step in, in order to get the situation under control,” said Rebecca Hubbard, Programme Director of Our Fish.

The decisions taken during this week’s AGRIFISH meeting in Luxembourg prove that the EU still has a long way to go to match it’s fisheries management decisions with its commitments and ambitions, namely the ecosystem based management and biodiversity restoration expressed in European Green Deal and Biodiversity Strategy 2030. Fisheries Council decisions on deep-sea and North-East Atlantic fishing limits can be meaningful actions to address the climate and nature crisis, but need to be much more ambitious and based on science, to do so.

ENDS

Contacts: 

Dave Walsh, Our Fish Communications Advisor, +34 691 826 764, dave@our.fish

Ottilia Thoreson, Director WWF Baltic Ecoregion Programme +46 8 624 74 15, ottilia.thoreson@wwf.se

Emily Fairless, Oceana Communication Officer, +32 478 038 490, efairless@oceana.org

Nils Höglund, Fisheries Policy Officer, Coalition Clean Baltic, +46 708 679 249, nils.hoglund@ccb.se

Sara Tironi, Seas At Risk Communications Officer, +32 483 457 483, stironi@seas-at-risk.org

 

Notes:

[1] Agriculture and Fisheries Council, 19-20/10/2019

Baltic Sea fishing: Council agrees on 2021 catch limits

https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2020/10/20/baltic-sea-fishing-council-agrees-on-2021-catch-limits/

Joint NGO recommendations on EU Baltic Sea fishing opportunities for 2021

https://our.fish/publications/joint-ngo-recommendations-on-eu-baltic-sea-fishing-opportunities-for-2021/

European Commission, Fishing opportunities in the Baltic Sea for 2021: improving long-term sustainability of stocks, 28 August 2020

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_20_1522

[2] Ministerial Declaration. ‘Our Baltic’ Conference, 28th September 2020 https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/ministerial_declaration_our_baltic_conference.pdf

 

 

German EU Presidency has opportunity to match Chancellor Merkel’s Commitment to Healthy Oceans

Luxembourg, 19 October 2020:- As EU Fisheries Ministers gather today in Luxembourg to set fishing limits for the Baltic Sea in 2021, a series of messages to EU Commissioner Sinkevičius and Baltic state fisheries ministers appeared at landmarks in of Lithuania, Germany, Poland and Denmark, calling for an end to overfishing.

In Vilnius, Lithuania, the hometown of European Commissioner for the Environment and Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius, the iconic statue of King Mindaugas was seen holding a massive cod, accompanied by the messages #IsgelbekBaltijosjura (Save the Baltic in Lithuanian) and #EndOverfishing – in an apparent plea to the Commissioner to consider the legacy he will bequeath to future generations of Baltic children.

“Commissioner Sinkevičius hails from the Baltic Sea, where the children of the region will inherit the legacy of his actions. Just two weeks ago, as he opened the ‘Our Baltic’ Conference, the Commissioner promised that sustainable fishing levels are a priority goal for the EU. We expect the Commissioner to deliver on his word – Lithuanians, and indeed all Europeans, are looking for more than just rhetoric from his leadership” said Our Fish Programme Director Rebecca Hubbard.

The annual EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council (AGRIFISH) is meeting in Luxembourg, from October 19 to20th. Chaired by the German Presidency, the meeting will set Total Allowable Catches (TACs) – fishing limits – for fish caught in the Baltic Sea for 2021 [1]. Under the reformed Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) – and thus by law, the EU must set TACs in line with scientific advice by 2015, or by 2020 at the latest [2]. In October 2019, AGRIFISH ministers set five out of ten fishing limits for fish caught in the Baltic Sea in 2020 far above the scientific advice and CFP requirements [3].

During the weekend, in Warnemuende, in the coastal area of Graal-Müritz-Torfbrücke in Germany, a banner with the message reading: Rettet Die Ostsee, Überfischung Stoppen, Jetzt! called on Germany to: Save the Baltic Sea, Stop Overfishing Now!

“The German Presidency of the EU has a critical part to play; not only is Germany a key Baltic fishing country, but Chancellor Angela Merkel just last week committed to the UN Leaders Pledge for Nature, stating during the UN Biodiversity Summit that ‘we have to manage land and sea more sustainably’. But if the German Presidency facilitates fishing limits in the Baltic Sea that defy scientific advice, and result in continued overfishing, it will be specifically going against Chancellor Merkel’s commitment to a healthy ocean, and prove an international embarrassment”, she added.

In Poland, a message – delivered by a cod- the city symbol – calling on the Baltic decision makers to end overfishing.

Across the Baltic Sea, on the Langelinie promenade in Copenhagen, the famous Little Mermaid statue was seen embracing a cod with a message calling for an End to Overfishing. Last week, the Danish Minister for Fisheries, Mogens Jensen and Minister for Environment, Lea Wermelin received a statement signed by over 300 scientists calling for an end to overfishing as climate action.

Estonia currently holds the Presidency of BALTFISH – the high level group of Baltic Fisheries Ministers responsible for agreeing regional fisheries management conditions. As President, Estonia also plays an important role in this year’s deliberations over fishing limits, as the regional ministers usually agree to a preliminary joint position before entering the AGRIFISH Council. It will be interesting to see if Estonia also pushes for sustainable fishing limits considering that it recently signed up to the Our Baltic Declaration which re-committed to doing so [4].

“Today’s Council meeting is an opportunity for EU ministers to put their money where their mouth is and demonstrate that they are real leaders with integrity; follow the scientific advice, end overfishing of the Baltic, and deliver immediate action on climate and the biodiversity crisis”, concluded Hubbard.

International and regional NGOs have prepared detailed recommendations for fishing limits and relevant fisheries management options to restore the Baltic Sea fish populations and the health of the Sea, based on scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) [5].

 

BACKGROUND

EU countries have overfished the Baltic Sea for many years, leading to a decline in the health of fish populations and subsequently, the livelihoods of fishermen. In 2019, the situation became so bad that the EU agreed on a program to buy up a number of fishing vessels, in order to address the problem of there being too many boats for too few fish [6]. This is a misguided and expensive solution – these kinds of subsidies have been proven ineffective in addressing overfishing [7]. On the contrary, it has been demonstrated that if fishing limits followed scientific advice, catches and profits would increase, but these have been ignored by fisheries ministers [8].

ENDS

 

Contacts: 

Dave Walsh, Our Fish Communications Advisor, +34 691 826 764, dave@our.fish

 

Notes:

[1] EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council, 19-20 October 2020

https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/agrifish/2020/10/19-20/

[2] Common Fisheries Policy: Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32013R1380

[3] Our Fish, 15 October 2019: EU Fisheries Ministers Ignore EU Law and Nature’s Limits for Baltic Sea

https://our.fish/press/eu-fisheries-ministers-ignore-eu-law-and-natures-limits-for-baltic-sea/

[4] Ministerial Declaration ‘Our Baltic’ Conference, 28th September 2020: Declaration of the Ministers of Environment, Maritime Economy, Agriculture and Fisheries of Baltic Sea Member States and of the Commissioner for ‘Environment, Oceans and Fisheries’

https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/ministerial_declaration_our_baltic_conference.pdf

[5] Joint NGO recommendations on EU Baltic Sea fishing opportunities for 2021

https://our.fish/publications/joint-ngo-recommendations-on-eu-baltic-sea-fishing-opportunities-for-2021/

[6] Informal deal on measures to support fishermen and sustain fish stocks in the Baltic Sea

https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2020/09/22/informal-deal-on-measures-to-support-fishermen-and-sustain-fish-stocks-in-the-baltic-sea/

[7] Seas At Risk, BirdLife Europe and Central Asia, 2020. “Ending “temporary cessation” for good: How an EU subsidy is driving overfishing”

https://seas-at-risk.org/images/pdf/Report_EMFF_temporary_cessation_SAR_BirdLife_2020.pdf

[8] New Economics Foundation 2019, Landing the Blame: Overfishing in the Baltic Sea 2020. https://neweconomics.org/2019/12/landing-the-blame-overfishing-in-the-baltic-sea-2020

 

About Our Fish

Our Fish is working to end overfishing and restore a healthy ocean ecosystem. By collaborating with others, and deploying robust evidence, we are calling for an end to overfishing as a critical and significant action to address the biodiversity and climate crisis. https://our.fish