April 27, 2012 – The non-government marine conservation organization Oceana warns that there is a link between the collapse status of cod from the North Sea and bad decisions taken by the Council of Fisheries Ministers of the European Union (EU).
While working on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), Oceana urges Member States to give priority to the future of stocks over short-term political gains.
Based on the findings of a study carried out by Rainer Froese, a scientist specialised in fishing; and Martin Quaas, an economist expert in resources, the NGO requests members of the Council to take the necessary measures to safeguard the future of the sector and Community fishing stocks.
"For years, the Council of Fisheries Ministers has persisted in ignoring science, and this study shows one of the many consequences of its neglect and inaction," pointed out Xavier Pastor, executive director of Oceana in Europe.
"The Council had all the information needed to prevent the collapse of cod in the North Sea, but chose to ignore it, and now the fishing industry is suffering the consequences. European citizens trusted they would responsibly manage a public asset, and it is time our ministers acted in response to that trust."
According to the authors of the study, the closure of the cod fishery for three years could have led to the recovery of the stock and to the great compensation for the loss caused by the closure.
"The study analyzed the actual data on the recruitment of juvenile specimens, declared cod discards and prices. The only supposed figure was what would have happened with fewer captures than those determined by the Council," explained Froese.