Recommendations to the EU on the setting of fishing opportunities for 2022 September 2021 NGO signatories of this document wish to present our recommendations on the setting of fishing opportunities for 2022. Our intent is to assist the European Commission, the Council of the EU and the Member States in making decisions on fishing opportunities that finally end overfishing, significantly contribute to restoring and/or maintaining all fish stocks above healthy levels and safeguard marine ecosystem functions. Missed 2020 deadline and sluggish CFP implementation Overfishing and destructive fishing practices have been the main cause of marine biodiversity loss for the last 40 years and also critically undermine the resilience of fish, crustaceans, corals, seabirds, marine mammals, and other wildlife to the impacts of climate change, as well as undermining their capacity to mitigate climate change. 1 Despite the increase in fleet profitability2 IPCC. 2019. Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate. IPBES. 2019 Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. 2 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council (2021). Towards more sustainable fishing in the EU: state of play and orientations for 2022. “Overall, the EU fleet remained profitable in 2020, reporting healthy gross and net profit margins of around 26 % and 14 % respectively or close to €1.5 billion of 1
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