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  • COP26: Not a Moment to Waste: Ocean Climate Action Needs to be Counted Now

    COP26: Not a Moment to Waste: Ocean Climate Action Needs to be Counted Now

    Save the Ocean to Save the Climate – Blue Carbon Breakfast Briefing Glasgow COP26
    Photo: Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert/Our Fish (click image for more photos)

    Glasgow, November 9th, 2021:- During an event jointly organised by Our Fish and Open Seas this morning, Save the Ocean to Save the Climate – Blue Carbon Breakfast Briefing, leading marine biologists, economists, NGOs and a Scottish Labour Advisor to COP26 called for acknowledgement by governments of the critical role played by the ocean in addressing the climate crisis, and for increased focus on monitoring and measuring blue carbon.

    Rashid Sumaila: Save the Ocean to Save the Climate – Blue Carbon Breakfast Briefing Glasgow COP26
    Rashid Sumaila and Emma Cavan. Photo: Jeremy-Sutton Hibbert/Our Fish

    “COP26 is a pivotal moment in the response to the global climate emergency, and the urgent need to limit warming to 1.5 degrees”, said Rashid Sumaila, Killam Professor at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. “While countries are promising to cut emissions, one of our biggest carbon stores, the ocean, is still not being counted – or taken care of. Fishing can and has impacted the ocean’s capacity to store carbon and adapt to climate change, yet emissions from the fishing industry and sequestration from fish and the seabed are not included in nations’ climate action plans, or Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). This is a massive missed opportunity, and urgently needs rectifying, especially, as the mitigation of every tonne of CO2 counts.”

    “Sustainable fisheries management not only improves food security, it can curb the destruction of marine biodiversity, improve blue carbon stores and cut CO2 emissions – there are so many co-benefits, it should be called a climate super action!”, said Rebecca Hubbard, Programme Director with Our Fish. “Every tonne of CO2 counts, much of which is tied to the ocean; it’s time for world leaders to start demanding that fisheries managers put ocean-climate action at the heart of fisheries management, including in the EU.”

    Emma Cavan: Save the Ocean to Save the Climate – Blue Carbon Breakfast Briefing Glasgow COP26
    Emma Cavan. Photo: Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert/Our Fish

    “If destroying huge volumes of plant and animal life is not enough to stop industrial bottom trawling, perhaps protecting marine carbon sinks will be. Fish and seabed sediments lock carbon away and the life and sediment throughout the ocean depths must remain undisturbed to carry out their vital role in carbon sequestration”, said Emma Cavan, Research Fellow at Imperial College, London.

    Philip Taylor: Save the Ocean to Save the Climate – Blue Carbon Breakfast Briefing Glasgow COP26
    Philip Taylor. Photo: Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert/Our Fish

    “There is a massive marine hole in the way that we measure our country’s contribution to climate change. We urgently need to establish a system of accounting for losses of blue carbon habitats and a timeline for its implementation. Scotland has legal duties to protect blue carbon habitats, but our Climate Plan is not delivering this. Every year we lose more of these habitats due to the poor regulation of highly industrialised fishing methods such as scallop dredging, which scrape across the seafloor. For decades a hidden crisis of deforestation at sea has been unfolding – in order to stop this, we need to start counting blue carbon”, said Philip Taylor, Open Seas.

    Claudia Beamish: Save the Ocean to Save the Climate – Blue Carbon Breakfast Briefing Glasgow COP26
    Claudia Beamish. Photo: Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert/Our Fish

    “It took far too long, on a cross party basis, to get peatlands into the greenhouse gas inventory and for community action on peatlands protection and restoration to be supported. No more Scottish and UK governments’ procrastination on blue carbon – we know enough to act now – no more excuses! No time to lose!”, said Claudia Beamish, former Member of Scottish Parliament and Special Advisor to the Scottish Labour Group on COP26.

    ENDS

    Photo & Video

    Contacts

    Dave Walsh, Our Fish Communications Advisor, +34 691 826 764 press@our.fish

    Notes:

    Emma Cavan is a Research Fellow at Imperial College, London

    https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/e.cavan

    Rashid Sumaila is a University Killam Professor at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver

    https://oceans.ubc.ca/rashid-sumaila/

    Article: Fish and the Ocean Play A Crucial Role In Regulating Our Climate and Should Not Be Consigned to COP26 Sidelines – Emma Cavan, Erica M. Ferrer and U. Rashid Sumaila

    https://our.fish/news/fish-and-the-ocean-play-a-crucial-role-in-regulating-our-climate-and-should-not-be-consigned-to-cop26-sidelines/

    About Open Seas

    Open Seas undertakes research, investigations and campaigns to improve the health of Scottish and UK seas and the sustainability of our seafood. A Scottish charity, we work with key people in coastal communities, seafood supply chains and government decision-makers.

    https://www.openseas.org.uk/

    About Our Fish

    Our Fish is working to end overfishing and restore a healthy ocean ecosystem. By collaborating with others, and deploying robust evidence, we are calling for an end to overfishing as a critical and significant action to address the biodiversity and climate crisis. https://our.fish

     

     

  • ‘Save the Ocean to Save the Climate’: Activists Take Icy Dip near Glasgow During COP26 Climate Talks

    ‘Save the Ocean to Save the Climate’: Activists Take Icy Dip near Glasgow During COP26 Climate Talks

    ‘Save the Ocean to Save the Climate’: Activists Take Icy Dip near Glasgow During COP26 Climate Talks

    Photos: Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert/Our Fish

    Download high resolution photographs here.

    Photographs can be distributed for news purposes, not for resale.

    Activists took a chilly swim in the North-East Atlantic Ocean this morning to demonstrate the importance and value of the ocean in mitigating the effects of climate change, at Ardrossan Beach, near Glasgow where the 26th UN Climate Change Conference, known as COP26, is currently being held, on 4 November 2021. 

    The event was organised by the Our Fish campaign, which works to end overfishing in European waters, which apart from securing fish populations for the future, is essential to address the biodiversity and climate crisis.

    “Freezing our asses off in the Atlantic this morning isn’t just a great way to fortify yourself for the coming days of COP26, it’s a hardy reminder that we need to save the ocean to save the climate”, said Our Fish advisor Mike Walker, who was one of the swimmers. “Decision makers at COP26 must embrace the power of the ocean to fight climate change – and as the largest carbon sink on the planet, climate action plans must include ending destructive activities like bottom trawling and overfishing”.

    How you can help: Save the Ocean to Save the Climate

    In Glasgow? Join our COP26 Event: Save the Ocean to Save the Climate – Blue Carbon Breakfast Briefing on November 9th

    Today’s swim follows an earlier event in Marseille, during the IUCN World Congress

    Contact: Dave Walsh, Our Fish Communications Advisor, press@our.fish, +34 691 826 764

     

     

     

  • European Supermarket Magazine: Embracing Sustainable Fishing A Must To Guarantee Industry’s Future Stability: Report

    European Supermarket Magazine: Embracing Sustainable Fishing A Must To Guarantee Industry’s Future Stability: Report

    European Supermarket Magazine: Embracing Sustainable Fishing A Must To Guarantee Industry's Future Stability: Report

    The European Supermarket Magazine, 1 November 2021: Embracing Sustainable Fishing A Must To Guarantee Industry’s Future Stability: Report

     

    A report published by the Our Fish campaign and Low Impact Fishers of Europe (LIFE) has urged the EU to implement Article 17 of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) to allow for a more sustainable fishing industry.

    The report, How the EU can Transition to Low Environmental Impact, Low Carbon, Socially Just Fishing, outlines how Article 17 can play a crucial role in ending overfishing in EU waters and address the issues of biodiversity and climate change.

    Rebecca Hubbard, programme director with Our Fish, noted that “using quotas provides an opportunity to incentivise change” within the CFP, and pointed to a recent successful implementation of Article 17 by the French courts as an example of the change that can be enacted.

    Continue reading

  • EU Holds Key To Just Transition to Low-Carbon, Low-Impact Fishing Industry – Report

    EU Holds Key To Just Transition to Low-Carbon, Low-Impact Fishing Industry – Report

    EU Holds Key To Just Transition to Low-Carbon, Low-Impact Fishing Industry - Report

     

    EU Holds Key To Just Transition to Low-Carbon, Low-Impact Fishing Industry – Report 

    Brussels, 26 October 2021:- The EU and its member states must transition to a more ecologically, socially and economically sustainable fishing industry – and already have the means to do so, according to a new report published today. 

    The report, How the EU can Transition to Low Environmental Impact, Low Carbon, Socially Just Fishing, published by the Our Fish Campaign and Low Impact Fishers of Europe (LIFE) finds that by activating Article 17 of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), and allocating fishing quotas based on transparent and objective criteria of an environmental, social and economic nature, the EU can achieve a just transition to a low-carbon, low-impact fishing fleet. 

    The report proposes criteria and processes which the European Commission and EU member states could harness in order to achieve this goal, such as the reallocation of an increasing share of the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) over a period of eight years, which should include prescribed minimum allocations of fishing opportunities to the small-scale low-impact fishing fleet, indicators such as use of selective fishing gear, marine seabed impact, carbon cycle impact and history of fisheries and environmental compliance. 

    “For many years, the systems used by Member States to allocate their fishing quotas have led to the concentration of fishing opportunities in the hands of a few big players, to the detriment of small-scale low impact fishers and the marine environment,” said Brian O’Riordan, Executive Secretary, Low Impact Fishers of Europe. “The current system is not fit for purpose, rewarding as it does those who fish the most. Rather we need a system that rewards those who fish the most sustainably and provide the greatest benefits to society.” 

    “The EU has several tools and processes at its disposal to right this historic wrong. Next year the European Commission must report on the implementation of the CFP, and this provides a once in a decade opportunity to reset European fisheries policy on a correct course, beginning with a just reallocation of quota”, continued O’Riordan. 

    “Ensuring a healthy ocean is a crucial component of humanity’s response to the climate and biodiversity crisis”, said Rebecca Hubbard, Programme Director with Our Fish. “The EU’s Common Fisheries Policy has the ingredients needed to realise a transformation of EU fishing to one that minimises impacts on protected species and marine ecosystems, increases carbon sequestration and maximises social benefits for coastal communities.”

    “We just need to accelerate this transformation by incentivising good practice with priority access to quota and fish”, said Hubbard. “The European Commission can, and considering the current climate and biodiversity crisis, should, urgently help to accelerate this transition, while EU member states need to demonstrate political will and commitment to doing the necessary work to secure a healthy future for our fish populations and coastal communities”.

    “Considering its numerous small scale fleet, with a significant part operating with low impact methods and with great social and economic importance, Portugal must be a leader member-state in the implementation of the Article 17”, said Gonçalo Carvalho, Executive Coordinator of Sciaena. “This will be a key element in enabling a transition to fisheries that contribute to safeguarding marine ecosystems and strengthening coastal communities.”

    “France Nature Environnement supports the use of Article 17 of the CFP in order to move towards more sustainable fishing”, said Michel Morin, member of France Nature Environment’s expert fisheries working group. “The follow-up of scientific advice and the improvement of transparency in the allocation of quotas should be a priority, especially for small-scale fisheries.”

    “There is a huge discrepancy between the current situation of fishing in France and the declarations of the European regulations in favor of fishermen such as ourselves who fish exclusively by line, and who meet all the criteria laid down in Article 17: contribution to the local economy, selective fishing gear, reduced impact on the environment, low energy consumption,” says Ken Kawahara, secretary of the Association des Ligneurs de la Pointe de Bretagne, “The situation regarding the allocation of fishing rights has not changed at all since 2013, and many small-scale fishing vessels still have to be content with fishing the few species that are allowed to them while some industrial trawlers have thousands of tons of quotas.”

    According to the report, Spain has used some environmental and social criteria beyond the historical catches to allocate its quotas. “However, these are just exceptions,” explained Cecilia del Castillo, Fisheries Campaigner at Ecologistas en Acción. “Since Spain is currently drafting its new law on fisheries, it must do its best to include a more ambitious language and suitable criteria to ensure the implementation of article 17 of the CFP. Spain has now the opportunity to bet for a fair transition towards less harmful fisheries. This opportunity must not be wasted”. 

    “At the moment there is a lack of political will and clear procedures in the European Union to implement the common fisheries policy,” says Sascha Müller-Kraenner, executive director of the Deutsche Umwelthilfe in Germany. “The Common Fisheries Policy’s Article 17 gives fishermen who use environmentally friendly and sustainable fishing methods the first access to fisheries resources, instead of environmentally harmful fishing methods such as bottom trawling. The current biodiversity and climate crisis makes it imperative to act quickly: some fish populations are in such a poor condition that they can no longer be fished. Therefore we call on Germany’s incoming fisheries minister to finally implement Article 17 and to take ecological criteria into account when allocating fishing quotas.”

    ENDS

    Download the report:

    Download Presentation:

    Presentation: EU Holds Key To Just Transition to Low-Carbon, Low-Impact Fishing Industry

     

    Contact: 

    Dave Walsh, Our Fish Communications Advisor, +34 691 826 764 press@our.fish

    Sarah Namann, Marketing and Communications Officer, Low Impact Fishers of Europe (LIFE) communications@lifeplatform.eu

    Cecilia del Castillo, fisheries campaigner at Ecologistas en Acción, Spain, +34 625 295 796, pesca@ecologistasenaccion.org

     

    About Our Fish

    Our Fish is working to end overfishing and restore a healthy ocean ecosystem. By collaborating with others, and deploying robust evidence, we are calling for an end to overfishing as a critical and significant action to address the biodiversity and climate crisis.

    https://our.fish

    About LIFE

    The Low Impact Fishers of Europe (LIFE) is a European wide organization of organizations uniting European small-scale fishers to achieve fair fisheries, healthy seas and vibrant communities. 5% of the EU fish catch is produced by small-scale low impact fishing, supporting 70% of the fleet and providing 50% of the jobs at sea. 

    https://lifeplatform.eu/

    Media Briefing, October 26, 2021:

  • Listen to the Ocean: EU AGRIFISH Fisheries Ministers Receive Face the Music: End Baltic Overfishing

    Listen to the Ocean: EU AGRIFISH Fisheries Ministers Receive Face the Music: End Baltic Overfishing

    Luxembourg, 11 October 2021:- As EU fisheries ministers arrived for the AGRIFISH Council meeting early today in Luxembourg, they received a musical exhortation from a quartet of classical musicians and an opera singer, calling on them to Listen to the Ocean and the science, by setting fishing limits within scientific advice.

    Arel Ensemble performed excerpts from String Quartet No. 4 by Bacewicz, String Quartet No. 8 by Shostakovich, String Quartet in E Minor by Czerny, and Movement for String Quartet by Copland, and were joined by mezzo-soprano opera singer Luisa Mauro for Il Tramonto by Respighi outside the European Convention Centre in Luxembourg, where EU fisheries ministers are gathering to set fishing limits for Baltic Sea fish populations for 2022. EU Commissioner for the Environment Virginijus Sinkevičius attended the performance.

    fisheries ministers are gathering to set fishing limits for Baltic Sea fish populations for 2022. EU Commissioner for the Environment Virginijus Sinkevičius attended the performance.
    EU Commissioner for the Environment and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius attended the performance.

    “I’m performing this morning because I am sensitive to the future of our planet and music is my way of expression”, said mezzo-soprano opera singer Luisa Mauro.“I believe it is important to use an ecosystem-based approach to regulate access to marine resources, in order to ensure sustainability, and to prohibit destructive fishing methods”.

    “The Arel Ensemble is proud to play outside the AGRIFISH meeting here in Luxembourg this morning, to promote the need to fight for the planet and a better, sustainable future!” said Bartłomiej Ciastoń, first violin. “With our Polish roots, the musicians of Arel Ensemble are well placed to respond to, and understand the need, to protect the Baltic Sea from overfishing. As musicians, we are taking action to preserve nature and help the marine environment in a way that we do the best and with heart – by playing music”.

    “Today, the EU AGRIFISH Council will set fishing limits for Baltic Sea fish populations for 2022. We are running against the clock to stop the collapse of the Baltic Sea ecosystem and deliver on political promises to halt the climate and nature crises”, said Rebecca Hubbard, Our Fish Program Director. “The setting of fishing opportunities at sustainable levels is an essential precondition to deliver on these promises. Baltic Fisheries Ministers must listen to the ocean and the science, by setting fishing limits within scientific advice.”

    Listen to the Ocean: EU AGRIFISH Fisheries Ministers Receive Rousing Musical Demand to End Baltic Overfishing
    Ian Sanderson/Our Fish

     

    See Joint NGO recommendations on Baltic Sea fishing opportunities for 2022

    “Fisheries ministers have repeatedly set fishing limits for Baltic Sea fish stocks above scientific advice over the past decade, leading to huge declines in fish populations”, continued Hubbard. “In 2020, ministers improved on their track record, however they still set one fifth of fishing limits in the Baltic Sea above the best available scientific advice, thereby contravening the deadline to end overfishing by 2020, and failing to avert an ecological crisis [1,2]”. 

    “Unsurprisingly, this year, the health of fish populations in the Baltic Sea has worsened, with annual scientific advice by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) proposing closure of the fisheries for eastern Baltic cod, western herring and western Baltic cod, as well as effective protection of cod spawning grounds from all fishing, and drastic cuts in salmon fishing [3,4].”

    “This week, during the AGRIFISH Council, EU Fisheries Ministers must pull out all stops to counteract the decline of Baltic Sea fish populations. They need to follow the advice of scientists: by stopping fishing of eastern Baltic cod, western herring and western Baltic cod, and making drastic cuts in salmon fishing, if we are to have any hope of Baltic fisheries rebuilding and providing fishing communities a livelihood in the future” concluded Hubbard.

     

    About the musicians:

    Arel Ensemble is a string quartet based in Belgium and Luxembourg. Its musicians are members of the finest orchestras in the Benelux region and devoted chamber music players.

    Luisa Mauro is a mezzo-soprano opera singer who has performed across Europe and Asia in festivals, concert houses and recorded for Stradivarius label. She teaches vocal technique, interpretation and linguistic support, and in 2019 received the nomination of Chevalier de l’Ordre de Mérite of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

    ENDS

    Photo credits: Ian Sanderson/Our Fish

    Contact: 

    Dave Walsh, Our Fish Communications Advisor, +34 691 826 764 press@our.fish

    Notes:

    [1] https://our.fish/press/ngos-welcome-eu-fisheries-ministers-setting-more-baltic-fishing-limits-in-line-with-science-but-ecological-crisis-not-averted/ 

    [2] REGULATION (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy

    [3] https://our.fish/press/eu-must-respond-to-baltic-sea-ecosystem-and-fisheries-crash-with-urgent-radical-measures/

    [4] Joint NGO recommendations on Baltic Sea fishing opportunities for 2022

    https://our.fish/publications/joint-ngo-recommendations-on-baltic-sea-fishing-opportunities-for-2022/

     

    About Our Fish

    Our Fish is working to end overfishing and restore a healthy ocean ecosystem. By collaborating with others, and deploying robust evidence, we are calling for an end to overfishing as a critical and significant action to address the biodiversity and climate crisis. https://our.fish

  • Euronews: Report says subsidies up to €1.5 billion paid to fishing industry are fuelling climate change

    Euronews: Report says subsidies up to €1.5 billion paid to fishing industry are fuelling climate change

    Our Fish Programme Director Rebecca Hubbard speaks to Bryan Carter, Euronews, about the campaigns’s new report which shows that EU Fuel Tax Subsidies Worth €1.5 billion are Driving Climate Impacts & Overfishing

    Also on Euronews:

     

  • EU Observer: EU fishing fleet gets up to €1.5bn tax break, despite emissions

    EU Observer: EU fishing fleet gets up to €1.5bn tax break, despite emissions

    EU Observer: EU fishing fleet gets up to €1.5bn tax break, despite emissions

    EU Observer, 20 September 2021:

    A new report revealed on Monday (20 September) that the EU fishing fleet receives up to €1.5bn from tax breaks each year, despite emitting the same amount of CO2 as Malta in a year from burning fuel.

    The fleet, which consists of some 63,600 active vessels, burns 2.3bn litres of fuel each year to provide 5.2m tonnes of seafood with an estimated value of €7.7bn, according to figures released in 2018.

    Continue reading: EU fishing fleet gets up to €1.5bn tax break, despite emissions

     

  • Politico Brussels Playbook: Fishy Tax Breaks

    Politico Brussels Playbook: Fishy Tax Breaks

    Brussels Playbook: Fishy Taxes

    Politico Brussels Playbook, 20 September 2021:

    FISHY TAX BREAKS: The EU’s fishing fleet receives a tax break of between €759 million and €1.5 billion a year from fuel tax subsidies, according to a report published today by the Our Fish campaign. The group also finds that 7.3 million tons of CO2 are produced from burning fuel. MEP Grace O’Sullivan said the European Parliament-backed 8th Environment Action Program offers an opportunity for the EU to introduce binding deadlines to phase out environmentally harmful subsidies.

     

    Continue reading on Politico Brussels Playbook:Fishy Tax Breaks

  • Report: EU Fuel Tax Subsidies Worth €1.5 billion are Driving Climate Impacts & Overfishing

    Report: EU Fuel Tax Subsidies Worth €1.5 billion are Driving Climate Impacts & Overfishing

    Climate Impacts & Fishing Industry Profits From EU Fuel Tax Subsidies

    Brussels, Monday 20th September: The EU fishing fleet receives a tax break of between €759 million and €1.5 billion from fuel tax subsidies each year, as well as producing nearly 7.3 million tons of CO2 just from burning fuel, according to a report published today by the Our Fish campaign.

    The report, Climate Impacts & Fishing Industry Profits From EU Fuel Tax Subsidies, which estimates the fossil fuel tax subsidies received for the entire EU fishing fleet, and features case studies from France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and The Netherlands, finds that the destructive and fuel-hungry fishing vessels benefit the most from these perverse subsidies, while the climate, fisheries, and small-scale fishers suffer the consequences.

    “Each year, the most destructive sectors of the EU fishing fleet are being paid to produce millions of tonnes of CO2. While European citizens are expected to pay fuel tax to use their cars, the fishing industry avoids paying between €759 million and over €1.5 billion in taxes each year [1],” said Rebecca Hubbard, Program Director of Our Fish. “These tax breaks from the EU not only worsen overfishing and jeopardise ocean health, they fuel climate change, the impacts of which will further disadvantage low-impact small-scale fishers.”

    “In the fishing industry, environmentally harmful subsidies have created a skewed system which incentivises larger vessels and fleets to engage in practices that actively harm the marine environment and deplete already threatened fish stocks”, said Grace O’Sullivan, Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur for the EU’s 8th Environment Action Programme.  “This is unacceptable, and a key obstacle to achieving the emissions reductions and corrective measures urgently needed to address the climate and biodiversity crises.“

    “The European Parliament has voted to support the 8th Environment Action Programme (EAP), on which I am the Parliament’s lead negotiator, seeking to set a deadline of 2025 for the phase out of fossil fuel subsidies and 2027 for the phase out of other environmentally harmful subsidies in the EU”, she continued. “Success and progress around that position now depends on the outcome of the next step in the process, trilogue negotiations with the European Council and Commission, which are currently underway.”

    “The 8th EAP, is an opportunity to see decisive binding deadlines in the EU to phase out environmentally harmful subsidies and see an end to the practice of giving tax breaks and wasting public money, which add to the destruction of already vulnerable marine ecosystems, and put more sustainable, low-impact small-scale fishers, their families and communities at a disadvantage”, concluded O’Sullivan.

    “At this point of the climate emergency, every ton of CO2 counts. The EU has an obligation under the new European Climate Law to eliminate as much CO2 as possible in order to reach climate neutrality by 2050”, said Hubbard. “This is an opportunity to drive a rapid transition to low-carbon, low-impact fishing, by ensuring the fishing industry pays its taxes.”

    “The revision of the Energy Taxation Directive proposes a small, nominal tax for the fishing industry, but this will do nothing to halt the climate crisis or restore the EU’s overfished and unhealthy seas. Tax exemptions for the fishing industry should be completely removed from the revised directive and all energy products taxed according to their energy and carbon content. This will simultaneously increase the budget of EU member states and help fund a transition to a more sustainable fisheries sector that doesn’t cost the earth”, concluded Hubbard.

    Contact:

    Dave Walsh, Our Fish Communications Advisor, +34 691 826 764 press@fish.eu

    The report, Climate Impacts & Fishing Industry Profits From EU Fuel Tax Subsidies, is available in English, French, Spanish and Italian at: https://our.fish/publications/report-climate-impacts-fishing-industry-profits-from-eu-fuel-tax-subsidies/

     

    Notes:

    [1] This is based on the calculation of litres of fuel consumed by EU fleets multiplied by a potential tax rate. Fuel consumption data comes from the Annual Economic Report on the EU Fishing Fleet 2020 (AER) by the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF). No marine fuel is taxed in the EU or has been taxed in the past, therefore tax percentages used are based on assumptions. For the purposes of the report, we assume that taxes on gas oil would be most relevant to the fishing industry sector. Following the EU Council Directive on the taxation of energy products, we use the minimum level of taxation applicable to motor fuels, which is €0.33/l as our lower estimate, and the historic EU weighted average excise duties for gas oil for road transport, which is €0.67/l as our upper estimate, to give a potential likely range of taxes that the fishing industry would have paid.

    As of 2018, the EU fishing fleet burns 2.3 billion litres of fuel each year

    That is an estimated €759 million – €1.5 billion taxes avoided each year

    [2] Press briefing on the launch of Our Fish report on the EU Energy Taxation Directive, Climate Impacts & Fishing Industry Profits From EU Fuel Tax Subsidies

    Speakers: Grace O’Sullivan, Member of the European Parliament, Rebecca Hubbard, Our Fish; Flaminia Tacconi, ClientEarth.

    Recording available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szTtjgRjJL8

    About Our Fish

    Our Fish is working to end overfishing and restore a healthy ocean ecosystem. By collaborating with others, and deploying robust evidence, we are calling for an end to overfishing as a critical and significant action to address the biodiversity and climate crisis. https://our.fish

     

     Press briefing September 16: How EU Fuel Tax Subsidies Drive Climate Impacts & Fishing Industry Profits