British NGO is taking the UK to court for overfishing

The UK’s Blue Marine Foundation, a marine charity, is taking the UK to court for allowing overfishing in British waters. Above all, they emphasize that the quotas that have been issued far exceed the levels recommended by scientific advice.

Charles Clover, co-founder of the Blue Marine Foundation, states on their website that:

– By continuing to allow exploitation beyond sustainable limits, the government not only puts fish populations at risk but also everything that relies on them, including marine ecosystems and the fishing industry itself.

The Blue Marine Foundation believes that under the fisheries legislation established after Britain left the EU, it is illegal not to manage fish stocks based on the best available scientific advice.

The British government is irresponsible and acting illegally, says the Blue Marine Foundation, citing the mackerel fishery as one of the most blatant examples of this.

Norway gave Great Britain a quota of 24,000 tonnes of mackerel, in exchange for Norway being able to fish in Great Britain’s zone. The quota, worth £24 million, was negotiated even though the stock is overfished and that it has been allocated for reasons that remain secret, says the Blue Marine Foundation.

The mackerel quota is controversial because the coastal states have agreed on what the limits are according to the scientific advice, but they have not agreed on how the quotas should be distributed. It is all based on the countries themselves stating how much fish they catch and has led to a total overfishing of 400,000 tonnes than what science says is sustainable.