The appalling absence of officials from the Directorate-General on Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE) at the Social Dialogue meeting dedicated to discussing the status of the Mediterranean was harshly criticized by the Social Partners. ETF, Europêche and Copa-Cogeca stressed that their Committee is a key actor of the democratic legislative process, enshrined in the EU Treaty, that cannot be overlooked.

The Social Partners called for fisheries policies based on proper socio-economic impact assessments and for fisheries management measures that fishers can cope with. See their Resolution.

Juan Manuel Trujillo, ETF Fisheries Section Chair stated: “We want to have a thriving Mediterranean fishing sector that is sustainable from an environmental point of view. But at the same time, we want the industry also to be capable of offering quality jobs to  Europeans citizens and long-term economic perspective to companies”. He warns that under no circumstances the social partners “want to end up in a situation where the consumption of fishing products in the EU is delegated to imports of products of doubtful origin”.

During the meeting, the Social Partners also insisted on the need to wait for the results of scientific evaluations measuring the effects of the restrictions introduced in 2019-2021 to adjust fishing effort before proposing further reductions that would only make the sector to suffer even more.

Europêche’s spokesperson in the European social dialogue, Ment van der Zwan, added: ‘’Aware of the delicate situation in the Mediterranean Sea, the fishing sector is already taking its responsibility, reducing its activity at sea, which is benefiting the recovery of fish stocks as reported by scientific data. Yet, the obstinate application of the multiannual management plan on the Western Mediterranean, which has already reduced trawler fishing activity by 17.5% over the past two years (23.5% in 2022) accompanied by new measures restricting fishing operations, is driving most businesses below their breakeven point. The situation is untenable, we are destroying our own coastal communities, our culture, our heritage, to reach short-term unrealistic EU policy objectives”.

Social Partners Press Release – Viable and Sustainable Fishing Activity in the Mediterranean Sea

As part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has been given the mandate to regulate and discipline global fisheries subsidies. The main goal is to eliminate IUU subsidies and prohibit certain forms of fisheries subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing. The EU has one of the most advanced, innovative and transparent funding systems that contribute to the sustainable exploitation and management of marine resources. Yet, EU fuel tax relief schemes are in the spotlight as certain WTO parties consider these as harmful subsidies.

According to Europêche, fuel supplied for the purpose of navigation, fishing and aviation have been historically exempted from taxation to ensure an international level playing field and cannot be considered as subsidies.

Furthermore, in an attempt to justify the elimination of fuel tax breaks, certain countries and civil society groups claim that these schemes have contributed to overcapacity and overfishing. However, the sector argues that this is far from the truth, particularly in the case of the EU. Daniel Voces, managing director of Europêche declared: “Opposite to other countries in the world that have exponentially grown their fishing fleets, the EU fleet has been reduced by 22.000 fishing vessels over the last 20 years[1]. In addition, despite tax exemptions, fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions from fishing are down by 18% in only 10 years. As for the overfishing claims, fish stocks have been increasing significantly reaching in the North East Atlantic levels 50% higher than in 2010. Besides, 99% of the landings from EU-regulated stocks come from sustainable fish populations”.

Europêche recalls that fuel costs may exceed 40% of the total operational costs for fishing companies and therefore its taxation would put the EU industry at a competitive disadvantage with other countries with lower fuel prices and taxes. It would also cause a huge increase in fish prices rendering seafood unaffordable to many final consumers. Furthermore, at this moment, it is almost impossible in WTO context to control or enforce unfair subsidies to foreign fishing companies given the lack of data and transparency in many countries. Besides, developing countries may be exempted from fuel taxation.

Daniel Voces, stated: “The taxation of fuel for fishing would bring about little ecological benefits while resulting in an unprecedented large-scale bankruptcy for many fishing companies condemned to disappear. Family businesses would not be able to meet the expenses caused by the increase in fuel costs which, in some cases, could double the current fuel price for fishing vessels”.

The fishing industry calls on the EU to defend fuel tax relief schemes for all European vessels, regardless of their size, flag or fishing area where they operate. “No one should be discriminated or left behind”, Mr Voces concluded.

[1] The number of EU vessels in 2019 was 81 253 compared to 103 834 in 1996.

Press contacts:

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

EP Press Release – WTO Negotiations Fishery Subsidies

The board of Europêche will remain at the head of the organization for the next two years to defend the interests of fishermen and fishing-vessel owners before the European institutions. Javier Garat, President of Europêche, declared: “I am grateful for the trust that the members of Europêche have placed in the management team and for the recognition of the work done in the defence of a sustainable fishing activity, both from an environmental and a socio-economic perspective”. He continued: “Now more than ever, the European fishing industry must stand united to deal with common threats such as the Covid pandemic, Brexit or climate change. We are ready to face these challenges together and our commitment is to stand behind our companies and boost their competitiveness within a level playing field to lead EU’s economic recovery”.

During the next term, Europêche will promote a new narrative to turn fisheries from a problem into a solution, showcasing that fish food security can go hand in hand with the protection and restoration of marine biodiversity. According to Europêche, scientific data has shown that the majority of fish stocks in the Atlantic have recovered in a record time and that overfishing in the EU is at an all-time low. In addition, the sector has done its homework by reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 40%. This, coupled with the fact that wild-caught fish has one of the lowest environmental footprint, the fishing sector is placed in the front-running position to achieve the targets of the EU Green Deal and combat climate change.

Europêche also aims to place the human element of the sector, fishermen, at the core of EU fisheries policies and their recognition as guardians of the sea through their fight against marine litter. 

Likewise, Europêche will continue to work on the revision of the Fisheries Control System and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) which must be modernised and simplified to meet the needs of the industry and avoid current excessive bureaucracy. Other central policy actions such as strengthening the external dimension of the CFP, creating a level playing field in the EU market, revising the landing obligation or securing abundant fishing opportunities for the fleet, will play an important role in Europêche’s agenda.

Press contacts:

Daniel Voces, Managing Director of Europêche: +32.2.230.48.48 daniel.voces@europeche.org  

EP Press Release – Europêche Elections

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

The STECF is the European Commission’s scientific body which provides independent scientific advice for the conservation and management of living marine resources, including biological, economic, environmental, social and technical considerations. This allows policy-makers to build their decisions based on solid science evidence, better understand the health of a stock, determine how much can be fished, and closely monitor the implementation of the CFP.

The STECF report evidences overall positive trends for many fish stocks in the ecoregions across Europe. This is clearly confirmed by the fact that in the North-East Atlantic the proportion of overexploited stocks was reduced almost by half if compared with 2007 figures (p. 26). The proportion of stocks outside safe biological limits shows a similar downward trend under the same period (p. 28). The good news in these waters do not end here, as recruitment figures show that the number of young fish entering the stocks is consistently increasing since 2012, which may explain the increase in stock’s production. However, Europêche notes that the latter figure should be treated with caution since it may not reflect the reality of certain fish species largely impacted by environmental factors.

Managing Director, Daniel Voces, declared: “The news on sustainable fisheries is unequivocally good.  The majority of fish stocks in the North-East Atlantic are healthy and thriving. That’s thanks to many years of sacrifices being made by the EU fishing fleets and intensive collaboration with scientists and public authorities to improve fishing practices and fisheries management. Overfishing in the EU is at an all-time low”.

Europêche regrets that radical environmental NGOs keep on launching gloom and doom studies trying to proof how horrible things are in European waters by analysing the number of fish stocks or tonnes overfished in the past. Mr Voces reacted: “It really upsets the industry that some NGOs do not recognise the good progress made in the past 20 years. It frustrates the efforts of our companies that invest in sustainable practices and want to do things better. It generates an ambience of mistrusts, jeopardising the collaboration of the industry with scientists, governments and NGOs”. He continued: “It also confuses consumers that, because of aggressive campaigns from these organisations, may think that the oceans and fish stocks are in a dire situation and that consuming fish would contribute to harm the environment, when it is totally the opposite. The reality is that in the last 10-20 years no industry has made so many efforts and commitment towards sustainability like the European fishing industry”.

Europêche argues that part of the problem lies with the fact that the main EU fisheries law introduces targets and objectives which go against scientific advice and the fisheries reality. In this sense, even though scientists acknowledge that it is not possible to achieve MSY levels for all stocks at the same time, this is an actual objective of the CFP.

Mr Voces concluded: “Incredible accomplishments to achieve sustainability in our waters have been made in a record time, to the point that almost 100% of the landings from EU-regulated stocks come from catches fished at the MSY levels. However, the introduction of unachievable policy objectives in the CFP, reform after reform, unfairly gives the impression to citizens and consumers that the fishing industry is not sustainable. Policies need to be ambitious but rational at the same time”.

In the Mediterranean, many populations remain overfished due to inadequate fishing pressure levels which peaked in 2011. Europêche is nevertheless convinced that the new plan for the Mediterranean will deliver an important contribution towards better conservation and sustainable exploitation of fish stocks.

¹ Monitoring the performance of the Common Fisheries Policy (STECF-Adhoc-20-01)

* The STECF graphs below illustrate the significant reduction of fishing pressure (F/F_MSY), increase of biomass (B/B₂₀₀₃) and recruitment (R/R₂₀₀₃) in the North East Atlantic (NEA).

Figure 1: Trends in the indicators of stock biomass (median values of the model-based estimates relative to 2003). Three indicators are presented: one for the NE Atlantic (53 stocks considered, blue line); one for the Mediterranean & Black Seas (41 stocks, black line); and one for data limited stocks (ICES category 3, 73 stocks, green line) (p.8).

Figure 2: Trend in F/FMSY (based on 46 stocks). The figure shows the indicator values since 2016 close to 1, which means that over all stocks, on average, the exploitation levels are close to FMSY. Dark grey zone shows the 50% confidence interval; the light grey zone shows the 95% confidence interval (p. 32).

Figure 3: Trend in decadal recruitment scaled to 2003 in the Northeast Atlantic area (based on 53 stocks) (p.8).

Press contact:

Rosalie Tukker, Policy Advisor of Europêche: +32 (0)2 230 48 48

EP Press Release – STECF Report