27 September 2011: The European Commission has presented its first proposal for 2012 fishing opportunities for certain stocks in the Atlantic and the North Sea, with proposed levels of total allowable catch (TAC) and fishing effort for the fish stocks managed by the EU exclusively.

The Commission proposes to increase the TAC for nine stocks (certain stocks of cod, anglerfish, herring, haddock, hake, sole, megrim and Norway lobster) and reduce it for 53 stocks. For cod in the West of Scotland, the Irish Sea and the Kattegat, the Commission proposes that no fishing take place in 2012, given the poor state of these stocks.

The proposed changes would amount to an overall reduction in TACs (by weight) of 11 percent compared to 2011. The proposal concerns only the 83 stocks for which the TACs are decided by the EU alone, and is to be discussed by the EU fisheries ministers at the Fisheries Council meeting in November 2011. [EU Press Release]