Green Law Group , Threatens Legal Action , Over EU's Unsustainable Fishing Quotas.
'The Guardian' reports that the European Union is facing possible legal action for setting unsustainable fishing quotas for 2022.
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According to the EU's common fishery policy, over-exploitation of fish stocks was supposed to end in 2020.
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However, official monitoring data shows that over 40% of all commercial stocks in EU waters were unsustainably fished in 2021.
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On March 24, ClientEarth, a green law group, filed a request asking the EU Council to review catch limits set by fisheries ministers for the northeast Atlantic in December 2021.
'The Guardian' reports that if the request is refused, ClientEarth will file a case at the court of justice of the EU later this year.
We are taking legal action to stop EU ministers consistently allowing rampant overfishing.
These short-sighted policies are putting at risk the future of our fishing industry and the survival of coastal communities, Arthur Meeus, ClientEarth’s fisheries lawyer, via 'The Guardian'.
Poorly considered fisheries policy is also undermining the fragile balance of our ocean – one of the biggest carbon sinks of the planet – and its capacity to mitigate climate change, Arthur Meeus, ClientEarth’s fisheries lawyer, via 'The Guardian'.
If ministers don’t follow the science and protect stocks, the price will be paid not only by fish and fishers but by all of us, Arthur Meeus, ClientEarth’s fisheries lawyer, via 'The Guardian'.
According to official data, the North Sea has already lost 80% of its cod populations since the 1970s.
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Experts have warned that stocks are now likely to fall below a “trigger point” at which rigorous action should be taken to avert depletion
