The declaration rightly underscores the role of sustainable fisheries not only in preserving marine ecosystems but also in addressing poverty, hunger and malnutrition. More than 800 million people worldwide depend on blue food systems for their livelihoods—fisheries are fundamental to both people and planet.

This global commitment is echoed at the European level through the recent launch of the EU Ocean Pact. The Pact acknowledges the essential role of fisheries in Europe’s economy, food systems, and maritime heritage, calling for stronger policies to ensure a fair and sustainable future for fishers.

As European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated during UNOC3: Our fishermen and fisherwomen work tirelessly to feed us, day and night, in all conditions. Yet factors such as unfair competition are pushing too many of them out of business.

Europêche echoes this call for stronger EU and international action to support fishers, reverse harmful trends, and ensure the long-term viability of the fishing sector as a key pillar of ocean governance and coastal livelihoods.

At the conference, FAO unveiled its Review of the State of World Marine Fishery Resources 2025, bringing positive news. According to the report, in the Northeast Atlantic, 75.8% of assessed fish stocks are considered biologically sustainable—a figure that rises to 86.6% when weighted by catch volume (landings). For tuna, the results are particularly impressive, with 99.3% of global landings coming from sustainable sources, thanks to the successful implementation of robust management plans by Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs).

Europêche at UNOC3: Driving sustainable fisheries through dialogue and innovation

At the United Nations Ocean Conference, Europêche played an active role in shaping the global conversation on the future of sustainable fisheries and ocean governance. As a committed partner, Europêche co-organised and participated in several high-level events that underscore the sector’s contributions to food security, technological advancement and climate action.

In collaboration with international partners such as Better Food Future, Satlink and EBCD, Europêche highlighted how digital traceability, blue technologies and advanced management approaches can support resilient marine ecosystems and sustainable seafood systems. These events also explored how data reported by the sector and innovation can significantly boost fisheries and ocean science, as increasingly demonstrated in the EU, helping achieve global sustainability goals like SDG14.

Political dialogue: building stronger EU supply chains

Alongside key representatives from the EU fisheries and aquaculture sector—including FEAP, EAPO, EBFA, and AIPCE-CEP—, stakeholders exchanged views with key Members of the European Parliament on UNOC3 Declaration and the newly launched EU Ocean Pact.

During the meeting, the sector underscored the need for a comprehensive strategy that supports economic growth, innovation and long-term sustainability in seafood production. In response to rising global food demands and the need to revitalize seafood consumption within the EU, industry representatives called for the creation of a dedicated EU Action Plan for Blue Foods. This plan would aim to increase the supply and consumption of sustainable, high-quality seafood across Europe.

Press Contact: 

Daniel Voces, Managing Director of Europêche | Email: daniel.voces@europeche.org Phone: +32 489268107

Anne-France Mattlet, Deputy Director of Europêche | Email: anne-france.mattlet@europeche.org +33 678 11 63 01 

EP Press Release – UNOC

The fishing sector represented by Europêche recalls that the mandate given by the UN to BBNJ negotiators is clear: this process and its result should “not undermine” existing relevant legal instruments and frameworks and relevant global, regional and sectoral bodies. Therefore, the BBNJ process is banned from amending the existing regime on fisheries for the high seas established by the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),^[1] which is robust and coherent. However, the BBNJ’s negotiations have become a huge risk to the current fisheries governance system for the reasons explained below.

One of the main controversies is very much a matter of interpretation. For some, “not undermine” means full respect of competences, while for others it enables to take actions beyond the decisions adopted by the legal instruments, frameworks and relevant bodies such as Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) and take control over the marine resources therein, when deemed necessary by BBNJ Parties and experts. Such ambiguity can only be clarified with the explicit language deserved to avoid misinterpretations or even worst, the creation of a hierarchically superior authority over those fisheries management tools and relevant bodies.

According to Europêche, fisheries knowledge and expertise have been left out since the beginning of the negotiations. This has led to the biased perception that a strong and urgent intervention on fisheries is required through the establishment of a comprehensive new regime of a global network of MPAs in the high seas, as well as the implementation of environmental impact assessment guidelines that could be enforced on fishing vessels. On the contrary, fisheries in the high seas is strictly regulated through a wide range of instruments and relevant bodies, including through numerous RFMOs, the UN Fish Stock Agreement and the FAO Port State Measures Agreement.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) tried to fill this lack of expertise within the BBNJ negotiations through an information package[2]. While this document provides an initial tool to better inform negotiators on fisheries-related matters, only a stronger involvement of fisheries experts within the BBNJ process can lead to a truly comprehensive, evidence-based and transformative High Seas Treaty that does not undermine the powers and mandate of existing management tools.

Javier Garat, President of Europêche, declared: “No regulatory gaps have been identified for fisheries. Fisheries management is a living discipline in continuous improvement, where conservation and sustainable use are at its core. There could be implementation gaps whose attention and solution can be fully addressed thanks to the effective regulation of fishing activities in the high seas.” He concluded: “We are the most regulated activity in the High Seas. The BBNJ process needs to become the expected milestone in filling gaps in other areas of the use of the oceans, without affecting the solid evolution of fisheries management tools and their effectiveness.”

Europêche therefore calls for:

• A stronger involvement of fisheries experts as well as a better consultation between BBNJ delegations and national representatives of Fisheries Agencies and Ministries of Fisheries in the context of the BBNJ negotiating process and future proceedings.
• The exclusion of fisheries from the BBNJ Agreement, as fishing activities in the high seas shall continue to be managed at the regional level in relation with the species of common interest for the contracting Parties of a given legal instrument, framework or relevant body.
• A BBNJ Agreement that effectively cooperates with RFMOs in a manner that does not undermine their scope, mandate and competences. As a result, the following shall apply:

1. MPAs identified and designated in the context of the BBNJ Agreement that overlap with the coverage of an RFMO shall not regulate fishing activities.
2. Environmental impact assessments shall not be required for vessels falling under the remit of RFMOs management measures.
3. RFMOs and members thereof shall always be consulted when any BBNJ body seeks to adopt any action in the area of competence of such an RFMO.
4. Once an RFMO has been created and it has adopted the corresponding management measures for the management of certain area in the high seas, any regulation adopted under BBNJ shall cease to be in effect.

[1] See articles 118 and 119 which provide that subregional or regional fisheries organizations (RFOs) shall be competent to manage fisheries in the high seas, and are tasked  to maintain or restore the resources harvested to produce their maximum sustainable yield (MSY) level as qualified by environmental and economic factors, taking into consideration the effects on the species associated with or dependent upon harvested species, with a view of maintaining or restoring such species above levels at which their reproduction can be severely damaged (ecosystem approach).

[2] https://www.fao.org/publications/card/en/c/CC1345EN/

Press contacts:

Daniel Voces, Managing Director of Europêche: +32 2 230 48 48 daniel.voces@europeche.org

EP Press Release – BBNJ

The new Director agreed with the fishing industry’s claim for better positioning fisheries in the EU Green Deal and in the Farm to Fork Strategy. While supportive of the Green Deal goals as such, Europêche and EAPO objected against setting unrealistic and very harmful objectives, such as fencing-off 30% of EU seas as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) or phasing-out bottom trawling. The industry pointed in this context to the recent positive FAO report that shows that about 80% of the fish consumed worldwide comes from sustainable stocks. In the EU, according to the Commission’s latest communication, more than 99% of the landings in the Baltic, North Sea and the Atlantic managed exclusively by the EU will come from sustainably managed fisheries in 2020. The importance of seafood for a healthy, low carbon footprint diet was underlined and this meant that seafood should be promoted in the Farm to Fork strategy.

EAPO and Europêche reflected on the consequences of the Covid-19 crisis. Europêche president Javier Garat emphasised that: “We continue fishing through the crisis to provide sustainable healthy food to the consumers, but the drop in demand and prices has not recovered and the upcoming economic crisis will affect markets and our sector for a considerable time to come”. The mitigating measures taken by the Commission were welcomed by the industry and who pleaded for a rapid unlocking of €500 mln additional fisheries funds.

Other central topics were discussed such as the ongoing revision of the control regulation. EAPO and Europêche underlined the need for a simpler regulation with less administrative burden. Also the increased use of marine space by MPAs and windfarms led to the sector’s call for support of the Commission to guarantee continued fishing activities at sea for ensuring food security and supporting coastal communities across Europe.

Europêche and EAPO asked the European Commission to make life easier for fishermen since they have to face far too many regulations and bureaucracy of such complexity that hampers daily fishing operations. In this context, the fishing industry called on the Commission to be sensitive and as flexible as possible in the implementation of the newly adopted multi-annual plan for the western Mediterranean in a way that does not aggravate the socio-economic consequences caused by this pandemic. Furthermore, both organizations have proposed DG Mare to eliminate the regime of the autonomous tariff quotas (ATQ) for tuna loins at zero-duty tariff because it has been demonstrated that there is enough raw material available that this ATQ distorts the tuna market. In this sense, the sector also informed the new DG about the importance of guaranteeing the level playing field to ensure the competitiveness of the EU fleet.

On behalf of the industry, EAPO president, Pim Visser invited Ms. Vitcheva: “To visit one of our ports and see all the aspects of the food supply insured by the fishing industry”. Follow-up meetings to exchange views will also be welcomed.

Press contacts:

Rosalie Tukker, Policy Advisor of Europêche: +32 (0)2 230 48 48 rosalie.tukker@europeche.org  

EP and EAPO Press Release – New Director General of DG MARE

According to the report, in 2018, total global capture fisheries production reached the highest level ever recorded at 96.4 million tonnes – an increase of 5.4% from the average of the previous three years. Catches of anchoveta by Peru and Chile accounted for most of the increase in catches. China’s catch rates have soared from almost 4 million tonnes in the 80’s to more than 15 million tonnes in 2018, representing 15% of global catches, being by far the major fish producer nowadays. The EU has had a stable fish production over the last two decades with an average of 5 million tonnes per year, representing 6% of the global catches.

In 2018, an estimated 39 million people were engaged in the primary sector of fisheries globally. Overall, the highest numbers of fishers are in Asia (85% of the world total), compared to a couple of hundred thousand fishermen in the European sector which has been suffering a significant employment reduction of 28% since 1995. Concerning the total number of fishing vessels, it was estimated to be 4.5 million, a 2.8% decrease from 2016. Asia continues to have the largest fleet with 3.1 million vessels, 68% of the global total, while the EU fishing fleet continues to shrink, numbering 83.000 vessels at present.

The majority of global fish stocks – 65.8% in 2017 – continue to be within biologically sustainable levels, almost 80% in the case of the North East Atlantic. In other words, and thanks to the good health of major species, almost 80% of the current global landings come from sustainable stocks.

Globally, 59.6% of the stocks are in fact maximally sustainably fished, an increase since 1989 due in part to what FAO highlights as improved implementation of management measures. However, the FAO warns that the fraction of fish stocks biologically unsustainable is increasing, particularly in fisheries with less-developed management mainly located in Southern Oceans. Daniel Voces, managing director of Europêche, commented: “We cannot agree more with the FAO that the perfect recipe for ocean conservation is more and better fisheries management. The uneven progress in different parts of the world calls for an urgent need to replicate and export successful EU policies to these areas. All governments need to step up efforts to ensure healthy and sustainable seafood systems that respect nature and biodiversity, such as in the EU”.

Global fish consumption rose from 9.0 kg per capita in 1961 to 20.3 kg in 2017, providing about 3.3 billion people with almost 20% of their average per capita intake of animal protein. This is mostly due to an increased availability across regions and countries, contributing to the food security and nutrition of the world population. In the EU, although a little bit higher than the global rate (24.35 kg per capita), EU citizens in 2017 ate half a kilo less compared to the previous year.

Daniel Voces, concluded: “We welcome the expansion of fish consumption worldwide. Our recommendation to EU citizens is to keep eating wild-caught fish since as highlighted by the FAO Director General, it is by far the healthiest and most environmentally friendly source of protein on earth. We more than ever need the support of EU and national authorities to promote the consumption of European seafood to help our fishermen overcome the Covid-19 crisis that has hit hard our sector”.

Press contacts:

Rosalie Tukker, Policy Advisor of Europêche: +32 2 230 48 48  rosalie.tukker@europeche.org

EP Press Release – FAO SOFIA Report