EU Fishing Sector Accuses Pew of Knowingly Publishing Misinformation

November 19, 2015—The following is an excerpt from a story originally published on November 18 by Undercurrent News:

European fisheries industry body Europeche has issued an open letter to Pew Charitable Trusts, warning that statements which are “demonstrably untrue and contrary to scientific opinion” can cause damage. Javier Garat, Europeche president, pointed to the Pew report ‘Turning the Tide: Ending Overfishing in North Western Europe’ as containing such misleading information.

The report makes the assertion that: Fishing in recent decades, in pursuit of food and profit, off North West Europe has dramatically expanded. Calls by scientists and environmentalists to reduce fishing pressure have been ignored.

Many fish stocks collapsed throughout the region. The reformed CFP should prove a successful first step in restoring and maintaining the health of the fisheries and fish stocks.

The unambiguous view of the scientific community has been clearly stated, most recently at the State of the Stocks Seminar in Brussels, said Garat, quoting Eskild Kirkegaard, chair of the ICES advisory committee: “Over the last ten to fifteen years, we have seen a general decline in fishing mortality in the Northeast Atlantic and the Baltic Sea. The stocks have reacted positively to the reduced exploitation and we’re observing growing trends in stock sizes for most of the commercially important stocks.”