Breaking the law ?
Jan 26th, 2010 | By editor | Category: Other OrganisationsA recent report by Oceana asserts EU fisheries management does not comply with International law and may also constitute a breach of the European treaty as there is no chance of reaching the Johannesburg commitment for sustainably by 2015.
Oceana fisheries scientists have published a scientific study showing that the reason for the disastrous situation of European fish stocks is failed fisheries management over the last decades. In fact, catches could be 80% higher with sustainable management as in European waters, almost 90% of fish stocks evaluated are overfished.
Managing fish stocks sustainably is a legal obligation under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and has been given the deadline of no later than 2015 in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation agreed to by the EU.
The scientists found that Europe will fail to reach this aim by decades. Rainer Froese, lead scientist for the study, confirms: “With a business-as-usual approach, rebuilding of European stocks will take more than 30 years”.
The scientists found, even if fishing were halted in 2010, 22% of the stocks are so depleted that they cannot be rebuilt by 2015. With their failing to set fishing quotas at a level that prevents overfishing, European Union fisheries ministers act also in contradiction to the “precautionary approach”, a legally binding principle of the European Union treaty.
Rainer Froese also pointed out: “If Europe had acted on its international pledges of sustainable management, then catches could be about 80% higher than they currently are.”
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