EBFA chair Iván Lopez has stressed that the current political mandate marks a pivotal shift, offering a chance to rethink policy direction in light of the newly launched EU Ocean Pact, the UNOC3 Declaration and other interconnected initiatives.
‘Our sector has already undergone a profound transformation – the fleet has decreased by 30% since the year 2000. Combined with the adoption of new technologies and mitigation measures, this has led to a significant reduction in our environmental footprint,’ he said, speaking at the third meeting on the Implementation of the EU Action Plan to Protect and Restore Marine Ecosystems.
‘Yet, how much of this progress has been truly acknowledged in EU environmental policies? Especially considering that, according to UNCTAD, emissions from our sector have dropped by 52% since 1990.’
The European Bottom Fishing Alliance has endorsed the EU Ocean Pact’s vision of tailored management plans for each MPA involving fishers to identify compatible fishing methods based on local ecological needs.
‘This is particularly relevant since countries like Greece have been recently praised for banning bottom trawling in MPAs. However, the Commission is now urging Greece to comply with a 2020 Court of Justice ruling for failing to establish conservation objectives and measures for 239 Special Areas of Conservation under the Habitats Directive. This contradiction highlights a fundamental issue: there are no quick fixes. What is needed are evidence-based, site-specific management plans – not emotionally driven announcements designed for social media. Without this approach, EU fishers will be pushed aside while nature will not be effectively protected, these are the real ‘empty MPAs’ of the EU.’
EBFA wants to see an environmental protection strategy that focuses more on science and innovation than on eliminating fishing activity, which is currently thje case in Europe, as well as an increase in associated funding to find new technologies, adapt new gears and renovate the fleet.
EBFA has flagged serious policy gaps still present in the Action Plan, pointing out that it overlooks key issues of food security and self-sufficiency, despite repeated calls from both the Council and the Parliament and the new political mandate.
The Alliance states that the sector’s contribution to the energy transition is at risk, as policies threatening bottom fishing undermine private investment and banking confidence. At the same time there is a need for improved high-resolution mapping of trawling footprints and the establishment of gear-based buffer zones to help reduce socio-economic impact of area closures.
According to EBFA, the lack of recognition of Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs), which are acknowledged under international biodiversity and high seas agreements (CBD and BBNJ) as equal in status to Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).
The Alliance highlights inconsistencies in the Nature Restoration Law, which grants derogations to industrial offshore energy projects while placing full restrictions on fishers and farmers.
‘How can we accept different rules for blue economies under the same horizontal environmental legislation? This undermines confidence and fairness,’ Iván Lopez said.
