The UK government is being taken to court for setting allowable catch limits that exceed scientific advice for overfishing
Blue Marine Foundation, a charity dedicated to restoring the ocean to health, has launched legal proceedings against the UK government and its decision to set fishing opportunities, for more than half of UK fish stocks, at levels exceeding scientific advice.
According to Blue Marine Foundation, ‘The government’s distribution of more than 50 per cent of fishing quota over scientific advice for each of the past three years has been against the long-term interests of fishermen and fishing communities as well as irresponsibly threatening the survival of populations of fish species.’
Blue Marine’s research into these issues claims to highlight egregious examples of partiality and unfairness towards the majority of fishermen such as the distribution of mackerel quota, well above scientific advice, wholly or largely to a small number of wealthy and interconnected fishing companies – the ‘mackerel millionaires’.
The conservation group goes on to say that, ‘This additional quota was negotiated by the UK, knowing it was unsustainable, and given free to wealthy companies while smaller-scale, independent fishers are facing multiple challenges’.
The UK Government stated its commitment to become a world leader in fisheries management by ‘setting a gold standard’ following its departure from the EU, as well as continuing to uphold the vision of ‘clean, healthy, safe, productive, and biologically diverse seas’ set out in the UK’s Marine Strategy.
The government also committed to ensuring that fishing activities are environmentally sustainable and contribute to restoring and maintaining fish stocks above scientifically defined maximum sustainable yield (MSY) biomass reference points.
But, in 2023 recommendations made to the UK government by a collective of conservation and environmental groups, including Blue Marine Foundation, ClientEarth, Oceana, WWF and the Marine Conservation Society said that UK fish stocks are in ‘a worrying state’, with the UK Government and devolved administrations continuing to set fishing limits above scientific advice.
Only around a third of the assessed Total Allowable Catches (TAC) negotiated by the UK for 2020, 2021 and 2022 followed scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), with nearly two-thirds still set above scientific advice according to the UK Government’s own report.
The Blue Marine Foundation goes on to say that this overfishing will lead to the depletion of key species such as mackerel, Celtic Sea cod, monkfish and Irish Sea whiting and that a new approach which is fully compliant with fisheries law and policy is essential if the UK is to end overfishing, support prosperous domestic fishing fleets and coastal communities, meet international legal commitments on sustainability and mitigate the effects of climate change.
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