TAC (Total Allowable Catch)

A total allowable catch is the maximum tonnage of a stock that may be removed in a management period, set from assessment advice and then divided among fleets, vessels, or states through an allocation key or national quotas. The EU sets annual TACs under the Common Fisheries Policy; RFMOs set them for shared stocks. TACs work only with strong monitoring: landings declarations, observer coverage, and VMS keep realized catch inside the limit, while individual transferable quotas turn a national share into tradable rights.