The European Commission’s new package of measures aimed at improving the sustainability and resilience of EU fisheries and aquaculture has been criticised by the NGO community for its lack of ambition, and the absence of concrete actions and strong guidelines that would enable EU member states to drive the process of decarbonising the catching sector.
According to ClientEarth, Our Fish, Seas At Risk and BLOOM, while the new EU Action Plan, announced on 21 February 2023, lists actions facilitating dialogue and exchanges among scientists, decision-makers and industry, it fails to provide clear actions that would require member states to set transition targets and redirect financing towards the energy transition.
Our Fish Program Director Rebecca Hubbard said the proposed EU Action Plan is more of a discussion paper than an Action Plan.
“What is fundamentally needed to drive the decarbonisation of the EU fishing sector is an economic incentive to drive it, while issuing a financial penalty for failing to do so.”
She said the EU and member states must eliminate all fossil fuel subsidies in the revised Energy Taxation Directive, while the European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) must be updated to require that at least 35% of any support goes to transitioning to low impact and low carbon fishing.
“Anything less is gross hypocrisy,” Hubbard said.
ClientEarth Senior Lawyer Flaminia Tacconi insisted that EU and national funds should not be used to subsidise fuel for fishing vessels, saying it contradicts the pursuit of the energy transition.
The Commission must provide member states with strong guidelines on how to support the transition, how to move away from energy-intensive and destructive fishing practices and how to direct EU funds and national state aids towards the goal of decarbonisation, while small-scale and artisanal fishers should be supported as a matter of priority in the decarbonisation process, Tacconi said.
BLOOM Project Manager Valérie Le Brenne commented that the decarbonisation of the fishing sector must not be used as a “new Trojan horse” by industrial lobbies to perpetuate destructive methods.
“Equipping trawlers with electric engines or the adoption of ‘flying’ or lighter trawl doors that reduce drag are a fraud,” she said. “At this stage, the Commission’s action plan is clearly geared towards maintaining industrial and large-scale fisheries rather than preserving small-scale coastal fisheries, which are the most selective and sustainable, and the most likely to move quickly to a low-carbon model. It’s a shame.”
Hubbard added that to remedy the situation, the European Commission should analyse EU member states’ application of Article 17, which requires states to allocate quotas based on environmental, social and economic criteria, and propose example criteria including seabed impacts and CO2 emissions, to incentivise the transition to low-carbon fishing, with targets and timelines.
“Existing active EU fishing fleet capacity should not be increased during the process of adopting new technologies,” she said.
The EU’s package of measures comprises four elements: A Communication on the Energy Transition of the EU Fisheries and Aquaculture sector; an Action Plan to protect and restore marine ecosystems for sustainable and resilient fisheries; a Communication on the common fisheries policy today and tomorrow and a Report on the Common Market Organisation for fishery and aquaculture products.
The proposed actions will be carried out gradually to help the sectors adapt.
