Fisheries management and conservation and the precautionary approach

Abstract

Given that fish stocks depend on the quality of the marine environment, safeguarding biodiversity is indispensable for the economic sustainability of fisheries. Fisheries policy is the archetypal example of an environmentally-dependent public policy. Overfishing is the main threat to the sector’s economic future. The UN Agreement on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks (UN Fish Stocks Agreement) Highly Migratory Fish Stocks (UNFSA) was the first international fisheries agreement that enshrined the precautionary approach. Fishing is also an important economic activity within the EU, both in terms of exploitation of natural resources and employment, in coastal areas with few economic prospects. The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) has been one of the most integrated policies of the European Union. The CFP can no longer be conceived as a stand-alone sectoral policy but must be analysed in relation to the other policies pursued by the Union, in particular environmental policy. In 2013, in accordance with the precautionary “principle” enshrined in Article 191(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the CFP adopted a precautionary approach. The article explores the extent to which fisheries policy, at international level and in EU secondary law, enshrines the precautionary approach.