Small-scale fishing representatives from five European nations gathered this week in Brussels to highlight the challenges facing this sector, just as a public consultation on the effectiveness of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) regulation is in progress.
In an event hosted by Low Impact Fishers of Europe and Blue Ventures at the European Parliament, industry figures put the spotlight on problems of fair access to resources and the need to reward and support low impact fishing practices with additional opportunities and finance.
Discussion centred on the ongoing injustices faced by small-scale fishers, who LIFE and Blue Ventures state continue to be disadvantaged by an unfair system.
The sector’s position is that disproportionate allocation of quotas based on historic track records favours large industry players, and transfers between multinational fishing companies across different Member States complicate the identification of ownership structures, increasing the opacity of the system.
The closure of targeted fishing for high-value species such as cod in the Baltic and pollack in the Atlantic – while by-catch remains permitted, as pointed out by Swedish and Irish fishers on the panel – highlights deep inequalities in fisheries management, leaving small-scale fishers struggling to sustain their livelihoods.
‘Today, the species that sustain our diverse small-scale fisheries have significantly declined, and even when stocks are abundant, as in the case of bluefin tuna, quota distribution remains opaque and unfair,’ said Low Impact Fishers of Europe president Gwen Pennaru, commenting that the current CFP, shaped by the reform a decade ago, already contains the necessary mechanisms to ensure a fair and balanced system – most notably, Article 17.
This provision mandates that EU Member States allocate fishing opportunities based on transparent and objective environmental, social, and economic criteria. However, it has remained only partially implemented. Delegates made it clear that without decisive action from EU institutions, particularly the European Commission, the commitments enshrined in Article 17 will remain largely theoretical.
‘Full and effective implementation of Article 17 requires more than the use of transparent and objective criteria by Member States when allocating fishing opportunities. It requires concrete incentives for low impact fishing practices that make fishing opportunities genuinely accessible in practice, and not just in theory, to the small scale fleet, which makes up the vast majority of the EU and the Irish fishing fleets,’ said MEP Luke Ming Flanagan.
To bridge the gap between policy and practice, a binding implementation plan is seen as essential to ensure that fishing opportunities are allocated fairly and sustainably, in line with environmental, social, and economic criteria. Strengthening the role of EU institutions in this process is not just a matter of enforcement – it is a crucial step toward protecting small-scale fishers, safeguarding marine ecosystems, and upholding the EU’s broader sustainability commitments.
‘For years, fishing opportunities have been unequally distributed, promoting the interest of industrial fishing to the detriment of small-scale fishers and the marine environment. This has to change,’ said MEP Emma Fourreau, who closed the event by outlining a vision for the future.
‘The UNOC in June and the upcoming EU Ocean Pact constitute a momentum towards putting the rights of small-scale fishers and the transition to low impact fisheries on the top of the agenda.’
