EJF welcomes the presentation by Executive Vice-President Fitto and Commissioner Kadis of the Vision 2040 for Europe’s fishing and aquaculture sectors which sets out the strategic direction for securing healthy ecosystems, thriving businesses and coastal communities.

As the Commission recognises, our societies face multiple external shocks, while the triple planetary crisis is also directly challenging their foundations and affecting our ocean. In these uncertain times, we welcome the European Commission's emphasis on achieving the sustainable management of fish populations through robust science, effective control, and a strong culture of compliance. As the Commission writes, this must remain “an uncompromised policy objective”. At the same time, the Commission sets out a vision for the long-term competitiveness and resilience of the fisheries and aquaculture sectors, alongside a fair transition towards lower-impact activities. These objectives reinforce each other: as the Commission rightly notes, healthy fish populations and ecosystems provide the essential foundation for a competitive and resilient sector.

Already ongoing initiatives, alongside those announced today and an effectively implemented Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), can help deliver this Vision. As the Commission’s own extensive evaluation of the CFP has already highlighted, it remains a vital framework for sustainable fisheries, but weak and uneven implementation undermines it. The priority must remain closing implementation gaps and making full use of the tools already available. This should be matched by strong external action, including greater transparency over the beneficial ownership of fishing vessels.

Steve Trent, CEO and Founder of the Environmental Justice Foundation, said: “The Commission’s Vision 2040 is an opportunity to put an abundant and resilient ocean at the heart of a thriving and competitive Europe. Europe already holds many of the tools needed to deliver it, from the CFP to a strengthened fisheries control system. These are building blocks. What is needed now is the will to close implementation gaps and make them work in every fishery and every Member States backed by an Ocean Act with real teeth and public money spent for the public good.”

The EU ambition should not stop at its borders. We welcome the Commission’s determination to strengthen its external action on fisheries. By setting the global benchmark for transparency, the sustainable management of fish populations and the fight against illegal fishing, the EU can shape the standards that many of its partners follow.

In relation to the Ocean Act, we welcome the support for transparent, ecosystem-based maritime planning that considers cumulative impacts and climate risks, and embeds the expansion and effective management of marine protected areas and restoration areas. The planned alignment of the Ocean Act with the revision of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive offers an opportunity to connect Europe’s maritime ambitions with the healthy seas they depend on.

A clear vision is only the starting point. The Commission and Member States must now translate these ambitions into tangible measures, supported by the necessary financial resources.

EJF will analyse the Vision and its supporting documents closely and will welcome dialogue with the Commission, Member States and other stakeholders, to address particular implementation challenges with solutions that the Vision already outlines.

ENDS

Notes to editors

For further background on the issues raised in this release, see the following EJF reports and briefings, which set out the evidence and recommendations behind our positions on fisheries transparency, the landing obligation, the Ocean Act and beneficial ownership:

• Charter for Fisheries Transparency - EJF’s principles for open, accountable fisheries governance, setting out the data and decisions that governments and authorities should make public.

• Making the Landing Obligation Work: Tackling Europe’s Bycatch Crisis Through Fisheries Transparency - how fully documented fisheries, including remote electronic monitoring, can close the gap on the EU’s discard ban and cut unwanted catch.

• The European Ocean Act: Securing Europe’s Ocean Future - EJF’s assessment of what the Ocean Act must deliver for marine protection, ecosystem-based planning and the recovery of Europe’s seas.

• Identifying EU nationals who profit from foreign illegal fishing activities: the importance of beneficial ownership transparency - why making beneficial ownership information public is central to tackling illegal fishing and flags of convenience.

About EJF

Our work to secure environmental justice aims to protect our global climate, ocean, forests, wetlands, wildlife and defend the fundamental human right to a secure natural environment, recognising that all other rights are contingent on this. EJF works internationally to inform policy and drive systemic, durable reforms to protect our environment and defend human rights. We investigate and expose abuses and support environmental defenders, Indigenous peoples, communities, and independent journalists on the frontlines of environmental injustice. Our campaigns aim to secure peaceful, equitable and sustainable futures. Our investigators, researchers, filmmakers, and campaigners work with grassroots partners and environmental defenders across the globe.

For more information or to organise an interview with one of our team, please contact media@ejfoundation.org.