Press Release: 2006 fish quotas: greater stability requires long-term commitment to rebuilding depleted stocks

The European Commission tabled on 30 November 2005 its annual proposal on fishing quotas and attendant measures for 2006. This proposal takes account of the latest scientific advice on the state of the fish stocks from the independent International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), the Commission’s own Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee on Fisheries (STECF), as well as input from stakeholders. The Commission’s aim is to combine, as far as possible, a gradual approach to the recovery of severely depleted fish stocks – thus allowing fishermen to pursue their activities – with a long-term commitment to applying reductions in quotas and fishing as required to return such stocks to a healthy biological state. This commitment has been formalised in the long-term plans already in place for cod, hake and certain Nephrops stocks. The Commission’s proposal reflects this common commitment and also includes some measures which originate from the fishing sector.

This proposal, along with that on quotas for the Baltic Sea, will be discussed by Council at its next meeting on 20-22 December 2005.

European Commission: Memo: MEMO/05/451 http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/05/451&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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