fishing quota

In 2015, Greenpeace UK took the Government to court on the basis that it was not implementing Article 17 of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), which requires member states to allocate quota according to transparent and objective criteria along environmental, social and economic lines.

Following a recent judicial review which saw Greenpeace challenge the UK Government over its distribution of fishing quota, Mrs Justice Andrews DBE has ruled in the Government’s favour.

Responding to the verdict, Greenpeace UK’s Head of Oceans, Will McCallum, said:

‘Low-impact fishing boats are the lifeblood of the UK’s fishing industry. They make up the vast majority of our fleet – but the Government’s only giving them the crumbs off the table. That’s why we launched this legal challenge.

 Mrs Justice Andrews granted permission to Greenpeace to argue that this decision by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is unlawful because it contravenes new European fishing law, the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).

  Greenpeace believes that according to the CFP, local, low impact fishermen should receive more fishing quota because they fish more sustainably, have lower CO2 emissions and provide greater employment and job creation opportunities than the industrial scale fleet.

Ariana Densham, Greenpeace Oceans Campaigner said: "If Farage and UKIP MEPs had spent less time in the boozer, and more time in the EU parliament, they would have noticed that the Common Fisheries Policy has been completely reformed. It is now the solution to many of the struggles facing local, sustainable fishermen. It is national governments failing to give a fair share of fishing quota to local fishermen that is the problem, not the EU.

Greenpeace argue that this decision by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) contravenes European fishing law, the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).