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)