The Social Partners stressed that a strong, dedicated fisheries fund — supporting fleet modernisation, decarbonisation, generational renewal, enhanced safety, training, and working conditions — is the recipe for a thriving EU fisheries sector. 

The Commissioner reiterated the European Commission’s commitment to sustainable, competitive and resilient fisheries, confirming that the ongoing evaluation of the CFP will be published in spring 2026, and that the upcoming Vision for Fisheries 2040 will place strong emphasis on the social dimension, safety, and skills of the workforce. He also recognised the role of the Social Dialogue Committee in ensuring that the human element of fisheries remains at the forefront of EU policymaking.

Looking ahead to fishing opportunities for 2026, the discussion focused on balancing resource conservation with the livelihoods of fishers. Social Partners warned that heavy quota cuts and area closures are threatening jobs, incomes, and the sector’s appeal to younger generations — particularly in the already strained Mediterranean. The Committee reiterated the need to integrate socio-economic considerations in setting fishing limits, while stressing that fishers need some fresh air from Brussels to stay in business.

The meeting also addressed the EU’s external fisheries policy, underlining the Commission’s ongoing efforts to ensure that European fleets operate on a level playing field globally. Social Partners stressed the importance of promoting decent work and labour standards beyond EU waters, recalling that the European Commission must refrains from promoting labour standards below C188 in any international fora.

Cor Blonk, Chair of the Committee, stated: ‘Today’s meeting reaffirmed the importance of constructive social dialogue between workers, employers and the European Commission. Our message is clear: to achieve sustainability, Europe needs viable and competitive fleets, decent jobs, and policies that reflect the realities of our sector. We also call for harmonised training and mobility across the EU through a dedicated Directive — so that fishers can work safely and confidently anywhere in Europe.’

Mr Juan Manuel Trujillo, ETF Fisheries Section Chair, declared ‘We welcome the Commissioner’s commitment to keep the social dimension of fisheries at the centre of EU policy. However, the proposed changes to the MFF risk leaving our workers without the necessary support to make the sector safer, fairer, and more attractive for young people. Fishing is not a sector of the past – it must be part of Europe’s sustainable future.’

The Committee welcomed the substantial work presented during the meeting by the STECF to develop both quantitative indicators and qualitative data—such as the National Fisheries Profiles[1]—on the social dimension of the fisheries sector. This represents a significant first step towards ensuring that social impact assessments are systematically embedded and duly considered in all EU fisheries initiatives.

EU Social Partners look forward to continuing working closely with Commissioner Kadis and his team to ensure that the EU’s Vision for Fisheries 2040 delivers balance between people, planet and profit, the three pillars of sustainability.

For further information, please contact:

Daniel Voces, Europêche Managing Director (+32.489.26.81.07 or daniel.voces@europeche.org)

Andrea Albertazzi, ETF Fisheries Policy Officer (+32.470.93.05.89 or a.albertazzi@etf-europe.org)

SP Press Release – Meeting Kadis Final

During the meeting, the Commissioner reiterated his commitment to make fisheries sustainable in Europe, zero tolerance towards IUU fishing, tackle pollution, preserve the biodiversity and also the profitability of the fisheries sector. Social Partners welcomed Sinkevicius’ objective to decarbonize and modernize the sector without increasing capacity. He stressed that the intention of the Commission is not to revise the CFP but to implement policies better for the sake of stability and predictability for the sector.

“We sent a clear message to the Commissioner” said Juan Manuel Trujillo, ETF Fisheries Section President “we are 100% in favour of sustainable fisheries and we support the Commission in its zero tolerance against illegal fishing. However, the CFP must be based on three pillars – environmental, social and economic sustainability – that should be treated on an equal footing. That is why the Commission shall always do a thoughtful and proper socio-economic impact assessment before taking any preservation measure and, if necessary, shape the policies taking into account the outcome of such potential negative socio-economic consequences”.

“What we observe” he continued “is that the sector and the workers are dramatically impacted by the decisions taken by the Commission disproportionately closing areas to fishing, proposing to include perfectly regulated species in CITES and proposing fishing activity reductions in areas like the Mediterranean to the point that is sentencing the sector to disappear. The voice of fishermen is not sufficiently heard”, he concluded.

Ment van der Zwan, Europêche spokesperson for social affairs, declared: “The EU must clearly reduce its dependency on imported energy and food alike. For that reason, it should cherish its fishers and protect their lives and livelihood. There is a lot to gain in that respect. I hope the Commissioner listened and act upon, despite not recognising these issues afterwards on a message published on twitter”. He continued: “The Commission often talks about the protection of fish but little about the protection of fishers. In fact, the CFP is increasingly linked to environmental legislation[1] and poorly linked to social and safety objectives. To attract new generations to our sector we need the EU to adopt fisheries policies that provide legal security, stability and enhance the competitiveness of fisheries enterprises. Until we reach that point, we will be unable to make this job attractive”.

The Social Partners welcome the Commissioner’s open dialogue with the EU Social Dialogue Committee for Sea Fisheries and recognition of its unique role in addressing the social dimension of the CFP.

[1] E.g., Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Action plan to conserve fisheries resources and protect marine ecosystems, Biodiversity strategy and the Nature Restauration Law.

Press contacts:

Daniel Voces, Europêche Managing Director (+32.2.230.48.48 or daniel.voces@europeche.org)

 Andrea Albertazzi, ETF Fisheries Policy Officer (+32.470.93.05.89 or a.albertazzi@etf-europe.org)

SSDC Press Release – Commissioner Sinkevicius

After a warm welcome by the Marine Department of the Thai Ministry of Transport and Cadets of the Asian Maritime Technological College, during two full days, specialist from all over the world[1] gathered to tackle one endemic problem in the fishing industry: Safety. 100.000 Fishing-related deaths occur each year[2], the vast majority happening in Asia and Africa, particularly in inland and coastal fisheries. In other words, every 5 minutes, a fisherman or woman passes away. According to Europêche, it is regrettable that international instruments aimed at protecting the life of 35 million people working in the fishing sector have not been widely ratified.

One of the main goals of this conference was to engage with stakeholders in Asia in the work of advocating human and labour rights for fishers and to support the development of pathways to ensure workers’ protection. By way of example, in the Thai fishing industry, on average 60% of fishermen working on their vessels originally come from neighbour countries such as Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos. As in the EU, Thailand is dealing with a lack of motivation among the new generation to join the industry. A challenge for Thailand remains the ratification of key conventions for the safety of fishing vessels (Torremolinos Convention) and for training and certification (STCW-F). However, the country was the first in Asia to ratify the ILO Work in Fishing Convention (C188) aimed at protecting the living and working conditions of fishers on board of vessels.

At the conference, Rosalie Tukker, Senior Policy Advisor of Europêche, spoke about the importance of social dialogue and its ability to together with the workers address the gaps in the social dimension of fisheries and lead international effort to improve safety and working conditions, making key stakeholders aware of the human side of the sector, which is often forgotten.

Ms Tukker, declared: “Fishing is significantly safer in Europe, but it remains a global concern particularly in developing countries. For Europêche it is an absolute priority to protect the lives of those working at sea. Fishing stands at the beginning of an international seafood supply chain. Seafood remains one of the most traded commodities in the world and that concerns the EU market. We strive to make sure that fish products are harvested with high standards of safety and due respect to human and labour rights”.

Europêche, under the leadership of the FISH Platform will continue to provide a stage for all who wish to improve fishers’ lives and aims on working more closely in the future with Asian countries towards that goal.

[1] Experts from the UN specialised agency International Labour Organization (ILO), the Japan Agency for Maritime Education and Training for Seafarers, Stella Maris, the UN specialised agency International Maritime Organization (IMO), the Nautical Institute, Novikontas SCM, the Seafarers’ Charity, the Institute for Marine Science and Fishing Technology in Vietnam, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), the International Ocean Institute in Singapore, the Outlaw Ocean Project, and Europêche.

[2] FISH Safety Foundation, Fisher Mortality Brief, November 2022 (Commissioned by The Pew Charitable Trusts) via https://www.pewtrusts.org/-/media/assets/2022/11/fisher-mortality-brief.pdf.

Press contacts:

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

EP Press Release – FISH Platform Conference Thailand

Building on almost three years of close collaboration and cooperation, Europêche and the partner organisations have pooled their expertise to pioneer a new learning tool to better prepare crews for maritime emergencies. The digital programme will help better instruct fishers on the hazards involved in fishing operations and the procedures to follow in case of emergency. The implementation of these measures would certainly help minimizing accidents and fatalities at sea. 

MEP Gabriel Mato praised the innovative tool and highlighted the value of this event for the European fishing sector, stating: “A sustainable Common Fisheries Policy must guarantee the protection of the marine environment and of fishermen alike. Safety at sea is therefore vital and everyone’s responsibility. As legislators, we should spare no effort to prevent any accident from happening and ensure that our fishers operate under the best possible safety and working conditions. For this reason, I am honoured to host the presentation of this project which focuses on the protection and safety of our fishermen”.

Nicolas Le Berre, Maritime Institute for Prevention (IMP) and leading partner, presented in detail the 3D training course and how the Virtual Reality kit works. Mr Le Berre declared: “The fishing sector has changed. Fishermen are more and more eager to use new learning technologies and we need to provide them with the tools to be better prepared to face critical situations. Digital tools like the simulator we have developed are fundamental to ensure that our crews return safe and sound to their families after fishing”.

Cor Blonk, Chairman of the EU Social Dialogue Committee for Sea Fisheries, appreciated the efforts made by the European Parliament and Mr Mato to place “safety at sea” at the core of the Common Fisheries Policy. Mr Blonk declared: “The safety of human life must be at the forefront of EU legislation to ensure its protection as part of sustainable fishing. For this purpose, EU policies must be aligned with international standards on training and certification. It would be a huge step forward to bridge the existing legal gaps at EU level on harmonised vocational training and recognition of certificates”.

About the project 

web: https://vr-me.eu/

Most of the fatal accidents on board fishing vessels are due to lack of knowledge on devices and emergency procedures, and non-completion of periodic training exercises and simulations. To ensure a correct reaction by the fishing crew in emergency situations, trainings and simulations are needed where crewmen are exposed to a series of scenarios to get the procedures, and how to execute them.

VR-ME’s ultimate output is a training programme and Virtual Reality Simulator for Maritime Emergencies on board fishing vessels. A very innovative tool non-existent in the industry that would bring the training in emergencies to a higher level. End users can download the software which is publicly available.

The end products have been developed by a project consortium made of six partners from five European countries with experience in vocational training, prevention of occupational hazards, IT and the sector: IMP (Maritime Institute for Prevention, France), ARVI (Shipowners Cooperative of Vigo, Spain), SGS TECNOS (world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification multinational company), SQLearn (IT developer, Greece), PFA (Pelagic Freezer-trawler Association) and Europêche (European Fisheries Association, Europe).

VR-ME is a project co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.

Press contact:

Rosalie Tukker, Senior Policy Advisor of Europ

EP Press Release – VR-ME European Parliament

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

Voluntary social standards and certifications were recognised as drivers of sustainable economic development and a vital instruments to support learning, dialogue and trust-building between companies and stakeholders. However, Social Partners agreed on the fundamental principle that private labels can never go below the internationally recognised social standards set in ILO Convention C188.

“ILO C188 contains the minimum compulsory requirements to be respected and should be included in full, avoiding any cherry-picking in any voluntary certification scheme. The private labels which do not cover those minimum standards, should not be recognised as socially sustainable. So, any social-washing labels from 3^rd countries shall be left out of the single market”, said Juan Manuel Trujillo, ETF Fisheries Section Chair.

Europêche’s spokesperson in the European social dialogue, Ment van der Zwan, added: “In a highly competitive market for sustainable seafood products, admitting sub-standard certification schemes as socially sustainable would expose EU fishermen and companies to unfair competition. EU consumers would as well be highly misguided by the information provided by the label. Customers may chose a product labelled as socially sustainable, that in reality is not, over an European product with no such label but that by definition has to comply with higher social standards. It would be illogical and a commercial ruse.”

EP and ETF Press Release – Social Certification

Fishers are a cornerstone of seafood supply and food security in Europe. Still, they haven’t been prioritised in vaccination programs, exposing them to growing infection rates on fishing vessels and preventing the necessary crew changes around the world.

Unlike many other workers, fishers are limited in what they can do to avoid infection in their workplaces. The work of fishing crews takes place in confined spaces, where it is impossible to maintain physical distance and with the high risk of coronavirus transmissibility. Additionally, the often long periods of stay on board ships make it challenging to immunise them on the pre-established schedule for the general population. Europêche and ETF believe that this unique situation requires a special approach to vaccinations and call on Member States to develop new protocols at once.

“The fisheries sector has been recognised as an essential and strategic sector during the pandemic for its vital work in the supply of seafood and food security,” says Ment van der Zwan, Europêche Spokesperson in the European social dialogue. “To protect the supply, we need to protect the workers that support it and guarantee their speedy access to vaccines“.

The social partners have outlined a list of guidelines that can help states establish vaccination protocols for fishers in a way that responds to their specific working environments. They call for prioritisation of fishers in vaccination, coordination of vaccinations through national authorities, and, where possible, provision of single-dose vaccines for workers who remain on board for long periods. They also emphasise the need to establish a right to receive vaccination not only in the flag state but also in their country of residence and in port states.

“This vaccination must be available for all crews operating under European flagged vessels, whatever their nationality,” added Juan Manuel Trujillo Castillo, ETF Fisheries Section Chair. “This is common sense, particularly for the numerous fishing crews working on vessels that operate for weeks without returning to port.”

The social partners’ appeal aligns with the recent call of five UN agencies, encouraging governments to “give priority to fishers, seafarers and aircraft crews in their national vaccination programs.”

ETF and Europêche call on the European Commission to urge EU Member States to support the key workers of the fishing industry during the coronavirus crisis and prioritise their access to the vaccine to keep essential fishing operations running.

Press contacts:

Rosalie Tukker, Policy Advisor of Europêche, rosalie.tukker@europeche.org

Andrea Albertazzi, Fisheries Policy Officer of ETF, a.albertazzi@etf-europe.org

EP and ETF Press Release – Fishers vaccination