Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which stocks of interest to the UK had Total Allowable Catch limits set above the scientific advice in the last 12 months.

For stocks which the UK has an interest in, and that have assessments advising on their maximum sustainable yield (MSY), 36 (67%) Total Allowable Catches (TACs) were set at MSY out of a total of 54 in 2020. A full list is set out in the “Analysis of the outcomes of the 2019 December EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council & EU-3rd Country Negotiation” report submitted to the Select Committee on the European Union on 1^st April 2020.

The UK advocates an approach to TACs setting for 2021 founded on the best available scientific advice and which aims to deliver sustainability improvements.