Saving Seafood

European fisheries ministers strike deal on 2026 catch limits

December 18, 2025 — The Council of the European Union has released details of a political agreement reached by EU fisheries ministers on fishing opportunities for 2026 in the Atlantic, North Sea, Mediterranean and Black Sea.

The agreement, which concluded after two days of complex negotiations at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Brussels, sets total allowable catches (TACs) and fishing effort limits for key commercial stocks, and also incorporates outcomes of consultations with the UK and Norway.

The new measures will apply from 1 January 2026, following formal adoption and publication in the EU’s Official Journal. In its announcement, the EU Council said the agreement aims to balance scientific advice (from ICES and STECF) with socioeconomic considerations, in line with the objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy.

Jacob Jensen, Denmark’s minister for food, agriculture and fisheries, who chaired the negotiations, said the compromise had “broad support among the member states”, and would provide fishers with “certainty about their fishing opportunities for 2026.”

Read the full article at We Are Aquaculture

Atlantic, North Sea, Mediterranean, and Black Sea fishing opportunities agreed to for 2021

December 17, 2020 — Agreements on next year’s catch limits for more than 200 commercial fish stocks in the Atlantic, North Sea, Mediterranean, and the Black Sea have been reached by European Union fisheries ministers following two days of intense negotiation at the annual Agrifish Council meeting.

As more than 100 of the stocks in the Atlantic and North Sea have historically been co-managed with the United Kingdom, and given the ongoing E.U.-U.K. negotiations on their future relationship, ministers agreed to set provisional quotas for the fish stocks shared with Britain.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

ASMFC 2019 Spring Meeting Supplemental Materials Now Available

April 24, 2019 — The following was published by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Supplemental materials for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Spring Meeting are now available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2019-spring-meeting for the following Boards/Committees (click on “Supplemental” following each relevant committee header to access the information). For ease of access, supplemental meeting materials have been combined into one PDF – http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/2019SpringMeeting/2019SpringMtgMaterialsSupplemental.pdf.

American Lobster Management Board – Progress Report on Draft American Lobster Addendum XXVIII
 
Atlantic Herring Management Board – Advisory Panel Review of Draft Addendum II; Overview of 1A Management Tools
 
Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board – Technical Committee Report on Percent Reduction in Harvest to Achieve Fishing Mortality Threshold and Target in 2020, and Example Recreational Options to Achieve Those Reductions;  Correspondence Regarding Striped Bass Management; Public Comment
 
Law Enforcement Committee – MAFMC Letter on Law Enforcement/For-hire Workshop
 
Executive Committee – Revised Agenda & Draft Work Group Meeting SOPPS
 
Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board – Plan Development Team Report on Black Sea Bass Commercial Management
 
Business Session – Summer Flounder Commercial Issues Amendment Summary
 
Horseshoe Crab Management Board – Technical Committee and Stock Assessment Subcommittee Task List; Public Comment; James Cooper Tribute to Board
 
Interstate Fisheries Management Program Policy Board – Revised Draft Agenda and Meeting Overview
 
South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board – Committee Task List; MD DNR Memo: State-Gathered Public Input on Potential Management Measures for Atlantic Croaker and Spot
 
As a reminder, Board meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning April 29th at 1 p.m. and continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 12:15 p.m.) on Thursday, May 2nd. The webinar will allow registrants to listen to board deliberations and view presentations and motions as they occur. No comments or questions will be accepted via the webinar. Should technical difficulties arise while streaming the broadcast the boards/sections will continue their deliberations without interruption. We will attempt to resume the broadcast as soon as possible. Please go to – https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1041506190356646145 – to register.

UN, EU body’s efforts to protect Mediterranean criticized

October 31, 2018 — The General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) has adopted 11 recommendations in a bid to address the critical situation of stocks in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, it has said.

The regional fisheries management organization, created under both the EU and the United Nations, took the decisions at its 42nd session, held at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) headquarters in Rome, Italy.

“After a year of continuous efforts, all countries involved have reached, for the first time, a consensus on all new proposals presented,” it said. “These binding decisions relate in particular to multi-annual management plans for trawl fisheries in the Levant, the Ionian Sea and the Strait of Sicily, conservation measures for sharks and rays, a multiannual management plan for European eel in the Mediterranean, and further emergency measures for small pelagic stocks in the Adriatic Sea.”

Moreover, important decisions towards improving monitoring control and surveillance have been adopted, such as international joint inspection and surveillance schemes outside the waters under national jurisdiction in the Strait of Sicily and the Adriatic Sea, the marking of fishing gear, and access to information and data related to monitoring, control and surveillance, it said.

In light of the growing focus on non-indigenous species, that are transforming Mediterranean and Black Sea ecosystems, the body also agreed on the creation of a monitoring network for these species — a first for the region — as well as on regional research programs for blue crab in the Mediterranean and for rapa whelk in the Black Sea.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News