In recent public communications, DG MARE has reported that “in 2020 99% of landings coming from fish stocks managed exclusively by the EU in the Baltic, North Sea and the Atlantic will come from sustainably managed fisheries”. This reporting is misleading and by promoting this narrative, DG MARE offers to decision-makers an excuse to falsely assume that the work of achieving sustainable fisheries in the EU has been mostly done, and that no further measures need to be adopted to tackle overfishing. This puts at risk the future of the many vulnerable stocks not reflected in that statistic, which are still at dangerously low levels, and in dire need of urgent action to rebuild them.

This mini briefing details the reasons why the 99% figure and other elements of DG MARE’s reporting are misleading; and provides recommendations for better reporting on the real state of stocks in the EU.

Setting Total Allowable Catches (TACs) in the context of the Landing Obligation

Ask the right question, get the right answer: Scientific advice for bycatch or non-targeted stocks that have zero catch advice