EU faces legal action on cod quotas

The Council of the European Union is being taken to the European Court of Justice by WWF over its handling of cod fisheries in the region. The conservation group alleges that by going against repeated scientific warnings on the sustainability of cod stocks, the Council has breached EU environmental law.

The authoritative International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) has recommended the implementation of zero catches in areas of the North Sea, Irish Sea, Eastern Channel and west of Scotland – advice which not been followed to date. Under the EC’s Cod Recovery Plan, if scientists estimate that the level of mature cod in the area has fallen to a stage from which it will not recover by the end of the year, the Council is obliged to cut quotas by 15%. December’s decision to reduce quotas by just 14% in most areas has prompted the WWF’s legal action.

“The future for the cod is very bleak unless measures are taken quickly,” said Dr. Tom Pickerell, Fisheries Policy Officer at WWF. “The Commission will be reviewing the existing cod recovery plan next month and it is imperative the revised plan is workable to give depleted cod stocks the chance to recover and support a sustainable and profitable industry.”

“The recent Cod Symposium determined that cod can recover but we need to avoid the short-term political opportunism that has hindered the rebuilding of cod stocks and resulted in a long, drawn-out lean period for the UK cod fleet. If the council made the tough decisions years ago we wouldn’t be in this mess now,” added Dr. Pickerell.