EU countries agree on fishing – but receive criticism

EU fisheries ministers have agreed on fisheries in the Atlantic, including the North Sea, the Skagerrak and the Kattegat, next year.

Environmental organizations are critical of parts of the agreement. France, Spain and Portugal, in particular, are singled out as irresponsible.

The agreement applies to fisheries that take place entirely in EU waters, but also fisheries shared with Norway and fisheries that are jointly managed by the EU, Norway and the UK.

For fisheries that only the EU and the UK share, there is as yet no agreement. There, temporary rules will apply for the first three months of 2022, according to a press release from the European Commission.

Several environmental organisations are disappointed with the content of the agreement. In about a third of the stocks concerned, fishing will be greater than recommended by scientific experts, several sources said.

The organizations Our Fish and Seas at Risk point out in a press release that Spain, Portugal and France in particular “proudly declared their intention” to go against the scientific advice.

A representative of the organization Oceana criticizes the ministers of the three countries mentioned, but also Denmark, among others, for “continuing to disregard overfishing, as if there were no tomorrow,” according to a press release. Oceana specifically expresses concern for South Atlantic hake and for the sole of the Iberian Peninsula.