A major assessment of fish stocks in the northeast Atlantic Ocean shows that many species are recovering and are now being fished sustainably. The surprising findings, reported in the journal Current Biology, are based on data from government research institutes that collected millions of measurements of fish, both at sea and in markets. The study showed that for the first time in decades the majority of fish stocks in the northeast Atlantic are recovering, thanks to reforms instituted by individual nations and the European Union in 2002. This good news comes amid widespread criticism of EU fisheries policies, which recently have undergone further reform. “We should be aware that low fishing pressure needs to be maintained until stocks recover,” said researcher Robin Cook of the University of Strathclyde in Scotland. “This is only the first step. Now we need to see numbers increase as a result of continued low fishing pressure.”
European Fish Stocks Show Signs of Recovery, Study Says
More From E360
-
ANALYSIS
How China Became the World’s Leader on Renewable Energy
-
Biodiversity
As Flooding Increases on the Mississippi, Forests Are Drowning
-
Climate
In Mongolia, a Killer Winter Is Ravaging Herds and a Way of Life
-
Energy
In Rush for Lithium, Miners Turn to the Oil Fields of Arkansas
-
Food & Agriculture
How a Solar Revolution in Farming Is Depleting World’s Groundwater
-
INTERVIEW
What Will It Take to Save Our Cities from a Scorching Future?
-
Climate
Rain Comes to the Arctic, With a Cascade of Troubling Changes
-
Health
Plastics Reckoning: PVC Is Ubiquitous, But Maybe Not for Long
-
Energy
How a Legal Loophole Allows Gas Leaks to Keep on Flowing
-
Solutions
Flying Green: The Pursuit of Carbon-Neutral Aviation Revs Up
-
TECHNOLOGY
As Use of A.I. Soars, So Does the Energy and Water It Requires
-
Cities
How Parking Reform Is Helping Transform American Cities