Progress towards ending overfishing in the Northeast Atlantic

• Main Authors: Froese, Rainer, Tsikliras, Athanassios C., Scarcella, Giuseppe, Gascuel, Didier
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: GEOMAR 2019
• Subjects: Tac; Northeast Atlantic
• Online Access: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/47862/; https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/47862/2/B_F_NEA_3.pdf; https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/47862/1/NEA_Stocks_2018.zip

The reformed Common Fisheries Policy of the EU, in force since 2014, stipulates that overfishing by the fleets of its member states has to end latest in the year 2020. This study examines exploitation and status of 119 stocks fished by 20 countries in the Northeast Atlantic. In the year 2018, about 40% of the stocks were still subject to overfishing (F > Fmsy), about 34% of the stocks were outside safe biological limits (B < Bpa) and about 68% of the stocks were too depleted to produce maximum sustainable yields (B < Bmsy). Reduction in the number of overfished stocks has stalled, possible because of an agreement between the European Commission (EC) and the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES), its advisory body for total allowed catches (TACs), wherein the EC requests ICES to give TAC advice leading to overfishing for many stocks. As a result, it is unlikely that overfishing will end in the Northeast Atlantic in 2020.