Leaked European commission plan would open gates to overfishing

[unhappycamper]

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/mar/10/leaked-european-commission-plan-would-open-gates-to-overfishing

Baltic Sea proposal would allow catches well above current sustainable levels needed to restore healthy fish stocks, putting some species at risk, conservationists warn

Leaked European commission plan would open gates to overfishing
Arthur Neslen
Thursday 10 March 2016 07.19 EST

Fishermen could soon be given carte blanche to overfish without needing to worry about restoring fish populations to a healthy state under a leaked European commission proposal seen by the Guardian.

If it is approved, the blueprint for the Baltic Sea could soon be applied to the North Sea too, potentially threatening the future of some cod species, MEPs say.

The plan would add exemptions to catch limits that are supposed to become mandatory by 2020 and practically remove a commitment to restoring fish stocks to healthy levels by the same year.

“With this proposal, overfishing will continue and, in a worst case scenario, (Baltic) cod will disappear. It is that serious,” Linnéa Engström, the vice-chair of the European parliament’s environment committee told the Guardian.