Most stocks continue to be overfished, and quotas need to be reduced, the EU Commission said as the proposal for next year’s quotas for the North-East Atlantic was presented on November 10.
The only increased quotas in the proposal were two stocks of sole (7 and 5 per cent) and one stock of hake (a 15 per cent increase). Otherwise, the proposal only included lower quotas for all stocks and species included.
The proposal will be debated and decided on by the Council of Fisheries Ministers when they meet in Brussels on 17-19 December.
“We have made real progress in fisheries management over the last six years, and we are starting to see positive results – such as the recovery in certain stocks under long-term management plans. But this good news remains the exception, not the rule”, Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Joe Borg commented.