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EU Common Fisheries Policy reform

2012 - The opportunity for change

EU Common Fisheries Policy Reform

 

The 2012 reform of the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) provides the opportunity for a new policy that will stop overfishing, end destructive fishing practices and deliver fair and equitable use of abundant fish stocks.

The CFP is the European Union's instrument for the management of fisheries and aquaculture occurring in its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), or by its fleet fishing outside EU waters.

In 2007, the EU Court of Auditors judged that the CFP had failed to achieve its central objective of the sustainable exploitation of living aquatic resources. Find out more

The Commission's Green Paper on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy published on April 21 2009 launched a public consultation that lasted until December 31 2009. Read the European Commission's report on the results of the consultation (pdf; 156 KB).

The Green Paper  outlines the state of Europe's fisheries today.

  • Over 80 percent of assessed fish stocks in EU waters are deemed overfished and 30 percent outside safe biological limits.
  • Most stocks targeted by EU fleets outside EU waters are showing signs of over-exploitation. Unless the present reform succeeds where the 2002 reform failed, fish stocks will be further depleted, exacerbating the crises facing the fisheries sector even further with potentially disastrous consequences for fishery dependent coastal communities, in Europe and in developing countries, and the marine environment. Some scientists have even predicted the global collapse of commercial fisheries by around 2050.

"Commissioner Borg has called for a wholesale fundamental reform of the Common Fisheries Policy. OCEAN2012 is a response to that call."

 
 


Uta Bellion, director of the Pew Environment Group’s European Marine Programme and OCEAN2012 Co-ordinator.

 


The key elements of reform

OCEAN2012's proposals for the reform are:

  • Environmental sustainability is the over-arching principle without which economic and social sustainability is unobtainable;
  • Decisions are taken at the most appropriate levels and in a transparent way, ensuring effective participation of stakeholders;
  • Sustainable fishing capacity at EU and regional level;
  • Access to fisheries resources is conditional on environmental and social criteria; and
  • Public funds are only used in a way that serves the public good and alleviates social impacts in the transition to sustainable fisheries.

 

 

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