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2020 brought unprecedented disruption to European fisheries management, with Brexit greatly complicating policy negotiations and the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting everything from commercial fishing operations and the oversight process to seafood processing and consumption. Much remains uncertain for 2021, so let’s examine what’s next for European fisheries managers.
The Trade and Cooperation Agreement reached by the EU and UK on Christmas Eve provides some stability for future management and includes agreement on contentious issues such as allowing each party’s vessels to access each other’s waters, and how quotas will be shared. The framework provides management objectives—and safeguards to ensure that these are delivered—which together should keep both parties focused on prioritising sustainability in their decisions.