Archives: publications

  • Feedback to the European Commission on the CFP’s state of play

    Feedback to the European Commission on the CFP’s state of play

    Feedback to the European Commission on the CFP’s state of play

     

    On behalf of BirdWatch Ireland, ClientEarth, Danmarks Naturfredningsforening, Deutsche Umwelthilfe, Ecologistas en Acción – Spain, The Fisheries Secretariat, Fundació ENT, De Nederlandse Elasmobranchen Vereniging, Stichting De Noordzee, Oceana, Our Fish, Sciaena, Seas At Risk, and WWF, we hereby respond to the European Commission’s public consultation on the progress of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) implementation, setting of fishing opportunities and the state of fish stocks.[1]

    The current CFP Basic Regulation entered into force on 1 January 2014. It contains ambitious objectives and concrete timelines to put the European Union at the forefront of global fisheries management and make European fisheries economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable. However, seven years later, progress in implementing the CFP has been too slow to end overfishing, rebuild fish populations and protect marine ecosystems. For some fish stocks, no progress has been made since the CFP was reformed. The EU has failed to fulfil its legal obligation to harvest all stocks sustainably by 2020.

    [1] For more aspects of the CFP pending implementation, please see the NGO policy paper “Common Fisheries Policy: Mission Not Yet Accomplished” (2021). NGOs identify nine specific challenges—overfishing, especially in the Mediterranean Sea, the landing obligation, harmful impacts of fishing, the transition to low-impact fisheries, harmful subsidies, regionalisation, the external dimension, and climate change—and propose a list of actionable solutions.

    Continue reading (pdf)

  • Joint Statement 52: organisations worldwide urge EU Member States to combat illegal and unsustainable fishing practices: “Require cameras also on vessels below 24 metres”.

    Joint Statement 52: organisations worldwide urge EU Member States to combat illegal and unsustainable fishing practices: “Require cameras also on vessels below 24 metres”.

     

    Joint Statement 52: organisations worldwide urge EU Member States to combat illegal and unsustainable fishing practices: “Require cameras also on vessels below 24 metres”.

    A large number of NGOs from across the globe urgently call on EU fisheries ministers to reject proposals, which could be adopted at the end of June 2021, that would mandate cameras on board only for certain vessels above 24 metres. Such vessels make up less than 3.2% of the EU fleet. Requiring broader uptake of REM is crucial to combat illegal and unsustainable fishing practices inside the EU, and for the EU to call on other countries to require the use of REM. Only then can we ensure that the vast majority of legitimate operators who follow the rules are protected from unfair competition by those who do not.

    This statement concerns proposals by EU ministers which could be adopted at the end of June 2021 during the AGRIFISH meeting in the context of the revision of the Control regulation. This statement can also be found at transparentfisheries.org

    Download pdf: Joint Statement 52 – organisations worldwide urge EU Member States to combat illegal and unsustainable fishing practices: “Require cameras also on vessels below 24 metres”.

     

  • Common Fisheries Policy: Mission Not Yet Accomplished

    Common Fisheries Policy: Mission Not Yet Accomplished

    Common Fisheries Policy: Mission Not Yet Accomplished

    Seven years after the last reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) entered into force, the EU, which has exclusive competence in this area, is yet to succeed in fulfilling its objectives. Implementation and enforcement challenges remain, often due to Member States’ inaction,  insufficient oversight by the European Commission  and industry resistance to change. Possible solutions exist within the CFP itself, or in other available legal instruments, without the need to reform the CFP Basic Regulation in the medium-term.

    Article 49 of the CFP Basic Regulation states that: “The Commission shall report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the functioning of the CFP by 31 December 2022”. In anticipation of this report, this policy paper aims to provide a constructive assessment by mapping weaknesses in CFP implementation and opportunities to address them. We offer recommendations for tackling the gaps to end overfishing, including in the Mediterranean Sea, for implementing the landing obligation, reducing the negative impacts of fishing on the environment, transitioning to low impact fisheries, eliminating harmful subsidies, improving regionalisation and the external dimension, and addressing the lack of climate change considerations in the CFP.

    NGOs call on the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Council of the EU, Member States, and relevant stakeholders to deliver urgently on the CFP’s objectives to ensure the long-term environmental sustainability of fisheries and of the coastal communities that depend on them.

    Download PDF: Common Fisheries Policy: Mission Not Yet Accomplished

     

  • Marine NGOs voting recommendations on EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030: Bringing nature back into our lives

    Marine NGOs voting recommendations on EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030: Bringing nature back into our lives

    Marine NGOs voting recommendations 2021 EU Biodiversity 2030

     

    This document highlights the joint voting recommendations of Our Fish, Dutch elasmobranch Society, Oceana in Europe, Sciaena, the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, Seas At Risk, Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), The Nature Conservancy, BirdLife Europe and Central Asia, IFAW, Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation, Ecologistas en Acción and France Nature Environnement to the draft Parliament report on the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.

    Download PDF: Marine NGOs voting recommendations on EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030: Bringing nature back into our lives

     

  • Letter to Commissioner Sinkevičius on Misleading Statement Regarding Sustainability of EU Fishing

    Letter to Commissioner Sinkevičius on Misleading Statement Regarding Sustainability of EU Fishing

    On Monday 10 May, 2021, a European Commission representative attending the Fisheries Committee meeting in the European Parliament made a misleading statement about the sustainability of fish available for sale in the EU. NGOs have written to the Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius, the Director General of DG MARE, and Members of the PECH Committee with our concerns about this misinformation. The EU has a long way to go to end overfishing and greenwashing will not help.

     

    letter to Commissioner Sinkevičius on misleading statements

    Download letter to Commissioner Sinkevičius

  • NGO Shadow Action Plan: Realising the ambition of the EU Biodiversity Strategy in the ocean

    NGO Shadow Action Plan: Realising the ambition of the EU Biodiversity Strategy in the ocean

    Realising the ambition of the EU Biodiversity Strategy in the ocean

    Key recommendations for the European Commission’s Action plan to conserve fisheries resources and protect marine ecosystems

    The European Commission is developing an Action Plan to make fisheries more sustainable, and protect marine ecosystems and their biodiversity, as a key part of its European Green Deal and Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. The Commission has asked for feedback on their Roadmap here, so Our Fish and our allies have developed an ‘NGO Shadow Action Plan’ to demonstrate the level of ambition and timeline that we expect it to deliver.

    The ocean is key to tackling the climate and biodiversity emergencies

    Life on Earth depends on the ocean: no matter where you are, you depend on the ocean and its unique and rich biodiversity for the production of oxygen, food, energy, and the enormous amount of heat and carbon it absorbs. Yet, as United Nations Secretary General António Guterres says, ‘Humanity has waged war on nature and making peace with nature is the defining task of the 21st century […] This is an epic policy test. But ultimately, this is a moral test’. None of the European seas are healthy , and fishing remains the biggest driver of marine biodiversity loss. The 2030 EU Biodiversity Strategy includes a commitment to develop, by 2021, an Action Plan to conserve fisheries resources and protect marine ecosystems, with a focus on limiting the use of fishing gear most harmful to ocean biodiversity, especially on the seabed.

    Contine reading: Realising the ambition of the EU Biodiversity Strategy in the ocean (pdf)

  • Back to the Source: Saving Europe’s Biodiversity Starts in the Ocean

    Back to the Source: Saving Europe’s Biodiversity Starts in the Ocean

    Back to the Source: Saving Europe's Biodiversity Starts in the OceanThese are turbulent times. One million species are at risk of extinction and the ecosystems supporting our lives are on the verge of breaking down; we are embroiled in the worst pandemic the world has experienced for 100 years; and climate change impacts are already biting with unprecedented heating, ice melting and climate refugees. EU seas are feeling the heat: Member States have failed to achieve ‘good environmental status’ for our seas and the combined impacts are on a path to cross complex planetary boundaries — triggering irreversible changes to the ecological conditions under which humanity has evolved and thrived.

    President von der Leyen and many EU Heads of State or government joined the Leaders Pledge for Nature at the UN Summit on Biodiversity, committing to reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. The European Commission’s Biodiversity and Farm to Fork Strategies are a blueprint for delivering on that pledge. This document is a toolkit of ocean-related solutions that EU decision-makers, including the Commission, Member State ministers and MEPs, can use to translate those two strategies into tangible and binding action.

    All life on the planet came from the ocean, and all life on the planet depends on the ocean. Without a healthy and functioning ocean, life would be unbearable. We need to help it, to help ourselves.

    Download: Back to the Source: Saving Europe’s Biodiversity Starts in the Ocean (pdf)

    FR: Retour Aux Sources: la sauvegarde de la biodiversité Européenne commence dans l’ocean (pdf)

    ES: Volviendo al Origen: para salvar la biodiversidad de Europa, hay que empezer por el  océano (pdf)

    PT: De Volta à Origem – Salvar a biodiversidade da Europa com eca no Oceano

    Back to the Source – Saving Europe’s Biodiversity Starts in the Ocean, jointly published by BirdLife Europe, BLOOM, ClientEarth, Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, Greenpeace European Unit, IFAW, MEDASSET, Oceana in Europe, Our Fish, Sciaena, Seas At Risk, The Nature Conservancy, WDC – Whale and Dolphin Conservation

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Ending the Blame Game Carousel: 20 Years of EU, Norway and UK Overfishing

    Ending the Blame Game Carousel: 20 Years of EU, Norway and UK Overfishing

    Credit: Agencja Fotograficzna Caro / Alamy Stock Photo
    Credit: Agencja Fotograficzna Caro / Alamy Stock Photo

    Agreed TACs compared to ICES scientific advice in the EU-Norway Agreement

    Briefing by Our Fish, contributing author Griffin Carpenter

    This study analyses the total allowable catches (TACs) agreed between the EU and the Norwegian Government as part of the annual EU-Norway Agreement. These TACs are of critical importance forthe sustainability of European waters. Indeed, the EU-Norway Agreement TACs are simply approved at the EU’s December Council. In analysing the EU-Norway Agreement TACs, this study also draws attention to the role of Norway as an actor in the TAC setting process, whereas previous analysis has mainly focused on the EU due to its larger size and number of TACs.

    Download PDF: Ending the Blame Game Carousel: 20 Years of EU, Norway and UK Overfishing

     

     

  • Science Briefing: EU fisheries management system likely to implode

    Science Briefing: EU fisheries management system likely to implode

    The unintended impact of not enforcing the ban on fish discards

    A new paper, ​The Unintended Impact Of The European Discard Ban​ by Dr Lisa Borges has found that an increase in fishing quotas of up to 50% was applied to account for the implementation of the Landing Obligation (LO) in EU waters in 2020, despite no enforcement of the LO and no decrease in discards. This discrepancy is likely to lead to a widespread unmeasured increase in the number of fish killed each year, which undermines the accuracy of scientific data, the ability of scientists to give reliable advice for fishing limits, and the ability of governments to make appropriate fisheries management decisions, and therefore lead to what the paper’s author describes as an “implosion of the EU fisheries management system”. This briefing elaborates on what the paper means for the health of the ocean and for EU fisheries management.

    Download Briefing: Science Briefing: EU fisheries management system likely to implode: or the unintended impact of not enforcing the ban on fish discards

    Briefing presentation – introduction by Our Fish Programme Director Rebecca Hubbard

    Presentation by Dr Lisa Borges: The unintended impact of the European discard ban