However, he also judged that the United Kingdom had made a procedural error in the prohibition by not taking into account the rights of EU fishermen during an adjustment period – as required by the Brexit trade agreement.
Fish is fed on cattle by farmers from countries like Denmark, but are also the favorite food for sea birds.
Environmentalists have long prompted the ban on fishing for the stock in order to give a break to the endangered birds – and a chance to stop their number of drops.
A spokesman for the British government said that the judgment “does not mean that the United Kingdom is legally obliged to reverse the closure” and that it “would now undertake a process of good faith to put the United Kingdom in accordance on the specific issues raised by the court”.
“We remain determined to protect our sea birds and the wider marine environment, in accordance with our commitments to the TCA (the UK trade and cooperation agreement) and other international agreements,” they added.
Friday afternoon, a spokesman for the European Commission told journalists that the executive of the block “still analyzed this decision”.
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