Disappointment and resilience. Those terms aptly describe the mood and stance of the Vigo, Galician, and Spanish fishing sector as the European elections approached in June. After five years of drift in the management of the European Commission and after countless criticisms aimed at Virginijus Sinkevicius, then head of the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, two core requests rose to the surface not only from fishermen and their associations such as Cepesca but from the wider marine industry represented by Conxemar, Anfaco, Europêche, EFBA, Fedepesca, the cofradías, and producer organizations. First, a demand to separate the fisheries portfolio from Environment; second, to reform the Common Fisheries Policy. Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, had signaled this during a visit to Galicia, recognizing the scale of the conflict. After the elections, the creation of a dedicated commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans, the Cypriot Costas Kadis, was announced, yet the reform of the CFP remains pending.
The European Parliament has recently commissioned a report titled The EU oceans and fisheries policy. Latest developments and future challenges, which translates to The EU’s oceans and fisheries policy. Latest developments and future challenges, and it gathers a set of recommendations for regulating activity, with a rebuke to Brussels about what it asks for and what it delivers. The document’s intent is to guide policy in a way that better aligns with the realities of the sector and the broader blue economy. The study emphasizes that the discussion is not only about quotas but about how the system can be more adaptable and effective in practice.
In its conclusions, the 100-page report stresses the need to boost direct support to operators for a green and digital transition, addressing the current obstacles. Existing initiatives that claim to support the double transition are mostly high level or targeted at technology providers and training. The report notes that the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) is not sufficient on its own, and calls for broader, more practical mechanisms to enable real progress.
The analysis highlights that definitions and limits on fleet capacity can act as barriers. It calls for precise technical and financial support mechanisms so the sector can adapt to climate-related impacts, such as changing sea conditions and shifting fish distributions. It also urges the development of a dedicated technology policy for fishing. The section on artificial intelligence and digital tools is blunt: current policies are fragmented. Given the importance of technology and future digitalization, a single, cohesive sector policy for technology would be beneficial and should be coherent with broader EU policies on the topic.
Succession and Sustainability
The study is authored by Poseidon Aquatic Resource Management and F&S Marine, consulting firms that specialize in the maritime sector and operate globally, offering advice in favor of sustainable fishing. Their conclusions underscore the importance of strengthening political backing for the sector’s workforce, acknowledging that the workforce faces stiff competition from other industries for talent. Policies should help ensure recruitment to replace an aging labor pool, improve workers’ skills, and support transitions into and out of the fishing sector, according to the report.
The report also stresses the need to reinforce policy content and implementation mechanisms to better achieve environmental objectives. It notes that quotas are still set by political commitments and regional conservation measures can take time to adopt. It points out that in many policy provisions and requirements, such as fishing control, the speed and quality of implementation by member states vary and stronger sanctions may be necessary. It even contemplates the possibility of retaining the EMFAF if member states fail to comply.
Alongside these recommendations, the authors call for market standards that ensure equal conditions in the production of fish and other marine products imported by the twenty-seven. The European Green Deal requires operators within the EU to work under higher environmental and social standards and to provide transparency to consumers. This needs to be backed by market policies and rules that guarantee equal conditions with non-EU imports, a factor particularly important for the seafood sector that relies on imports.