In the past, ministers responsible for fisheries have often set fishing limits or Total Allowable Catches (TACs) over and above the scientific advice in the interests of short-term economic gains. The CFP’s legally binding deadline to end overfishing now requires ministers to end this practice.
Sustainable fishing will benefit stocks, the marine ecosystem, and fisheries. In time, it will also bring substantial gains to the fisheries sector. However, decades of entrenched, expedient decision-making will not end easily.