Europe has blown annual 'fish budget'

Europe is consuming more fish than its waters can provide, leaving it reliant on fish caught elsewhere in the world, a report says.

Yesterday was the point at which the EU blew its annual "budget" for fish, with consumption exceeding the amount sourced from depleted European stocks this year, according to the study by the think-tank, the New Economics Foundation, and the campaigners Ocean2012.

If the EU was to consume only fish from its waters it would run out 189 days into the year – showing almost half of Europe's fish consumption depends on non-EU produce. The organisations are calling for reform of the Common Fisheries Policy to make fishing more sustainable. They say that dependence on fish from outside Europe could damage stocks in other parts of the world.