Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

EU–UK TCA arbitration upholds North Sea sandeel ban; clarifies best available scientific advice and precautionary approach; England to correct procedural proportionality breach; Scotland’s closure upheld

Published on: 17 June 2025

Published by a LexisNexis Environment expert

Legal News

Article summary

Background on the case

The Arbitration Tribunal constituted under the EU–UK TCA issued its definitive decision on the EU–UK sandeel dispute on 2 May 2025. The clash arose after the UK introduced a prohibition on catching sandeels within its North Sea waters to protect the marine environment, while the EU argued that such conservation steps would unfairly and disproportionately harm fishing communities in the EU. This marks the first dispute referred to the Arbitration Tribunal pursuant to the TCA. Consequently, the matter sheds light on how the TCA should be applied, particularly regarding what counts as the best scientific advice and how the principle of proportionality operates. In the end, whilst underlining the procedural need to have due regard to proportionality, the tribunal upheld the ban and concluded that, in substance, the UK’s fisheries management approach was robust. In reaching that view, the panel stressed process while confirming the substance of the UK’s fisheries policy choices as sound.

What did the tribunal decide

The initial issue for the tribunal was whether the decision to prohibit all fishing in the English sector of the North Sea rested on the ‘best available scientific advice’, as the TCA requires...

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