The European Bureau for Conservation and Development (EBCD),’ Europêche, The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), Oceana, The Pew Charitable Trusts andWWFl are writing to you today regarding the review launched by the European Commission of the 15-Point Action Plan on Trade and Sustainable Development Chapters to ensure that Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) actually deliver in terms of sustainable development.

In the framework of this review, we call on you to ensure that EU trade and fisheries policies are properly aligned, including in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. One of the provisions mentioned in the Trade and Sustainable Development Chapters concerns the management of living marine resources and aquaculture products.

Under this provision, cooperation in the fight against IUU fishing is emphasised. As enshrined in the Common Fisheries Policy and reiterated in President von der Leyen’s mission letter to Commissioner Sinkevičius, the EU intends to apply a zero-tolerance approach towards IUU fishing. While commendable and, as a principle, fundamental for the preservation of our ocean, concrete actions need to be taken to this effect, including in EU trade policies.

Download Doc

The European Commission has announced in its communication of 19 November 2020 on an EU Strategy to harness the potential of offshore renewable energy for a climate neutral future (COM(2020)0741), as part of the European Green Deal (COM(2019)0640), the objective to increase the EU’s offshore energy production twenty times (twenty five times in the case of offshore wind) to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.

The increase of competing activities in the maritime space such as waterborne transport, extraction of mineral resources, tourism, Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and expansion of offshore wind farms, heavily impact fishing activities in terms of loss of valuable fishing grounds and access to healthy stocks.

The EU fishing fleet strives for fishing responsibly and sustainably, it also aims to uphold its strong contribution to other important EU objectives such as food security and socio-economic development, especially in rural coastal areas. A shift is occurring in modern times from seas as a source of food towards seas as a source of minerals and energy, leading to a rough competition over maritime space. When the EU puts one objective above the other (for instance proposing 30% of electricity demand to be supplied by offshore wind farms), not only does it drive fishermen out of their traditional fishing grounds, but it also jeopardises their essential role in safeguarding food security (as recognised by the Paris Agreement) and thus frontally collides head-on with the objectives of other Sustainable Development Goals).

This shift in ocean paradigm is occurring without a careful analysis of the vast impact of such new uses. Current empirical studies are lacking assessments relating to the economic and social effects of offshore renewables on fisheries.

Download Doc