The BBNJ process marks the culmination of nearly two decades of work and builds on the legacy of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Europêche appreciates that administrative competences were clarified regarding Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs). Particularly, the text specifies their mandate for ensuring conservation and sustainable use in area-based management tools and the scope of environmental impact assessments that will be strengthened in the implementation process. In this context, the sector values the recognition of the great work that the RFMOs[1] have been doing for decades in terms of fisheries management and environmental protection. For which reason, the provisions of the BBNJ agreement cannot undermine their scope, mandate and competences. Likewise, the provisions on marine genetic resources will not apply to fishing regulated under relevant international law[2].

Javier Garat, President of Europêche commented: “This is exactly what we have been advocating and I think it makes perfect sense. Fishing is the most regulated activity on the high seas and gives a good example of how marine ecosystems can be well-managed and protected. If we have sound data about marine ecosystems in the high seas, it is mainly due to the data reported by our fishers. No other marine activity operates under a framework as transparent and effective as we do”.

Europêche believes that the effective and successful regulation of fisheries on the high seas should serve as an example of collaboration on governance in the BBNJ implementation process. Mr Garat commented: “We do not mean by this that fisheries governance is perfect, but rather that the data and rules that already exist for the management and protection of marine ecosystems under fisheries governance can be used to better regulate other activities and protect vulnerable areas. Equally, we need the governments to continue strengthening the work of RFMOs to optimize their performance”.

Garat concluded: “Our sector will be there to help develop science-based solutions. We ask the international community, relevant stakeholders, and environmental NGOs to focus on the challenges identified by the Treaty, namely unregulated marine activities and unregulated marine areas. Wasting energy and effort in reinterpreting or distorting the BBNJ agreement to try to overrule a robust fisheries management regime, developed over decades by RFMOs, would only serve as a deterrent and an excuse for its non-ratification”.

[1] https://oceans-and-fisheries.ec.europa.eu/fisheries/international-agreements/regional-fisheries-management-organisations-rfmos_en

[2] See article 8.2.a)

Press contacts:

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

EP Press Release – BBNJ Agreement

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

European seafood is famous for being safe, nutritious, of high quality and produced under a well-developed and effective fisheries management system. EU vessels are subject to hundreds of European and national rules to ensure a responsible and sustainable activity. Many more conservation measures for fishery resources, including by-catch, and for the protection of marine ecosystems have been adopted by the EU only last year. The sector assures that, at present, EU fisheries poses no threat for the long-term preservation of fishery resources.

The European Commission strategy claims that nature is in crisis due to the overexploitation of resources, climate change, pollution and invasive alien species and that more species risk extinction than at any point in human history. To revert the situation, the EU governing body proposes to increase the marine protected area (MPA) coverage from 10% to 30%, including a 10% no-take zone for strict conservation purposes, maintain or reduce fishing mortality to or under maximum sustainable yield (MSY) levels and increase offshore windfarms even in vulnerable areas under the guise of a win-win solution.

Europêche regrets that the strategy does not appreciate at all the huge improvements in EU fish populations. According to the latest scientific figures, in the North East Atlantic there is 50% more fish at sea in only ten years and overfishing in the EU is at an all-time low. In addition, almost 100% of the landings from EU-regulated stocks in that area come from catches fished at the MSY levels. It also fails to recognise that fishing has the lowest carbon footprint if compared with other food production industries, since wild-caught seafood does not require being artificially fed, the use of water supply, antibiotics or pesticides.

The fishing industry criticises that while for fishing there are strong binding targets, other maritime industries such as oil, gas, dredging, aquaculture or shipping that have a massive carbon footprint, displace animals, disrupt ecosystems and biodiversity are not even mentioned. Europêche qualifies this as discriminatory treatment and window-dressing since the Commission is trying to greenwash the image of the EU through fisheries restrictions.

Furthermore, according to Europêche, the socio-economic consequences of the disproportionate targets are clearly missing since the strategy will consider impact assessments only as a second step. For fishermen, this is putting the cart before the horses. In this line, it is crucial that other effective area‐based conservation measures are considered on an equal footing with MPAs and developed in close cooperation with fishermen given the tremendous socio-economic costs of these measures. 

Europêche argues that, when indicating the economic benefits of MPAs – largely related to tourism, ocean energy and recreation – the Commission fails to mention that the economic benefits generated by these sectors have a negative impact on biodiversity, fish stocks and ecosystems. Furthermore, the Commission heavily relies on tourism and recreation as the main sources of new jobs and growth, two sectors that are very much struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Daniel Voces, Managing Director of Europêche declared: “Closing off parts of the ocean to fishing actually conflicts with fundamental Sustainable Development Goals such as increasing food security and reducing poverty – both of which require the use of the ocean. We are shocked to read that while fishing would be heavily restricted or closed in protected areas, offshore wind farms will be permitted and even prioritised. The Commission already tried in the past to convert the oceans into a mining extraction site and now wants to transform our seas into the new European energy engine”.  

Fishing industry representatives fear that the combined effect of Brexit, the expansion of offshore wind farms, 30% MPAs plus stronger environmental EU regulations such as Natura2000, could restrict access to traditional fishing grounds to the point that fishermen would have nowhere to fish.

By 2030 the world’s population is expected to top 8.5 billion with the same right for healthy and high quality food supply. According to Europêche, the Commission should focus on how to produce more seafood in a sustainable manner rather than further closing traditional fishing areas. The strategy, as it is, would reduce the productivity and force Europe to import more from 3^rd countries which are far from the European environmental and social standards. In light of the trade disruptions created by the COVID-19 crisis, the EU cannot risk further reduction of our fisheries in exchange for more seafood supply from overseas from an environmental, social and food security point of view.

The Commission proposes to phase out bottom trawling. The fishing industry rejects this proposal since it would prevent the use of one of the most common, certified, regulated and researched fishing gears in Europe. Bottom-trawling is the only viable way of fishing for key species such as sole, megrim, plaice, Greenland halibut, shrimps and nephrops which are fished at MSY levels.

Javier Garat, President of Europêche, concluded: “Despite the recovery of the stocks and biodiversity, mitigation of environmental impacts and lower greenhouse emissions, the Commission refuses to acknowledge these achievements and uses fishing as the easy scapegoat to launch their environmental campaign. We want a real strategy with proportionate, rational and achievable objectives where all industries are treated on an equal footing, not an ill-founded proposal based on stereotypes. Therefore, we call on the European Parliament and Member States to stop this derailing train and send the proposal back to the Commission for full revision, so as to include the full cost of the policy in terms of impacts by the new users of space, intensification of fishing in limited space, reduction of fishing pressure and food production, elimination of trawling without a viable alternative and impact on exporting the environmental debt of the EU to developing countries. If the strategy is not changed, the Commissioner will fail to live up to his promise not to single out any of the pillars of sustainability – social, economic and environmental – during his mandate”.

Press contacts:

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

EP Press Release – EU Biodiversity Strategy