The Common Fisheries Policy provides for the conservation and rational exploitation of fisheries resources through a range of instruments. Total allowable catches, or TACs, for the various fish stocks are established each December by the Council of Agriculture and Fisheries Ministers, taking account of scientific advice provided by fisheries biologists on the state of stocks. The Marine Institute carries out Irish stock monitoring programmes which feed into the work of other scientific bodies to determine the status of EU fish stocks.
Recent scientific advice indicated some stocks were outside safe biological limits and accordingly, stock recovery measures have been introduced for Irish sea cod, northern hake and cod in the North Sea and west of Scotland. The overall objective is to ensure the recovery of these stocks within a timeframe of five to ten years. In addition, to ensure the long-term sustainability of stocks, I have consistently stressed the importance of technical conservation measures, in particular for the protection of spawning areas and juveniles.