Note: poor audio is just for first speaker - audio improves after 2:40

What: Joint media briefing by NGOs ahead of setting of EU fishing quotas for 2021
Why: There’s risk of more “overfishing as usual” during EU AGRIFISH Council, 15-16 December - but also opportunities for the EU to set positive examples
Who: Lead campaigners from Our Fish, Oceana, ClientEarth, Seas At Risk, The Pew Charitable Trusts, Sciaena

Join Our Fish, ClientEarth, Sciaena, Seas at Risk, The Pew Charitable Trusts and Oceana for a briefing ahead of the December 15-16th AGRIFISH Council meeting, where EU countries are expected to set fishing limits for 2021 for approximately 30 fish stocks, managed exclusively by the EU.

As these 30 fish populations are exclusively fished by EU member states, the EU has no one else to blame if it sets quotas above limits advised by scientists. These stocks now make up just 25% of the Northeast Atlantic stocks that the EU accesses, with the rest to be shared with the UK and Norway. In the past, negotiations over shared stocks with Norway have repeatedly led to overfishing, with each party blaming the other.

This AGRIFISH meeting provides an opportunity to set an example: will the EU deliver on its legal obligations, and its global leadership and Green Deal aspirations, by setting quotas for these stocks within scientific limits, or will it continue with overfishing-as-usual and thus undermine the ambition of ocean action in upcoming dealmaking with Norway and the UK?