Press Release: Commission: reductions in deep-sea fisheries are inevitable

The European Commission has warned that reductions in catches of deep sea species are inevitable either through choice to conserve the stocks concerned or by force as they become fished to depletion. This warning is contained in a review of the management of deep-sea stocks fisheries since their inception a few years ago. The Commission concludes that some of the measures have serious shortcomings, due in part to the dearth of information on the fisheries concerned and in part to reluctance by Member States to curb what are in many cases new fisheries. Weaknesses in implementation have compounded the problems. Action is therefore needed to improve data collection and to increase cooperation among all interested parties.