London, 10th February 2012. A new study has found that €3 billion is lost in potential annual revenue from EU fisheries because of overfishing - funds that could support a further 100,000 jobs in the industry.

The study by the new economics foundation (nef) assessed 43 stocks in European and neighbouring waters, and showed that through restoring the stocks to their maximum sustainable yield (MSY), it would generate 3.5 million tonnes of additional landings; enough to meet the annual demand of fish for almost 160 million EU citizens.

To return stocks to profitable levels, the report demands to catch an amount of fish that is lower than their regeneration rate and set MSY as general target for fisheries management.

The paper also demands to allocate quotas and subsidies to “those who fish sustainably and to activities that will put our fish stocks in better shape”.

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