ASSOCIATION OF NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS OF FISHING ENTERPRISES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

Press Releases

Europêche welcomes EU deal to ban products made with forced labour

Approximately 27.6 million people are enduring forced labor conditions across numerous industries and on every continent. In order to tackle this problem, the EU has reached a provisional deal on a Regulation prohibiting products made in violation of human and workers' rights on the EU market, including seafood. The political agreement brings about substantial modifications to the initial proposal, clarifying the roles of both the Commission and national competent authorities in the investigative and decision-making procedures. Europêche welcomes this institutional agreement and calls for a quick implementation of the system to effectively ban the trade of fish products deriving from forced labour, hand in hand with EU policies against illegal fishing (IUU).

India blocks - once again - WTO fish subsidies agreement

After four days of intense negotiations, which were extended for an additional day, the 166-member World Trade Organization (WTO) failed to achieve consensus on addressing subsidies that contribute to overfishing and overcapacity.

Europêche meets Member States to prepare for next legislative term

• Europêche shared the frustration voiced by farmers regarding imbalanced and unworkable EU policies strangling fishing companies across the EU • Europêche calls to elevate primary production high in the future Commission’s structure to safeguard the sector's vital contribution to food sovereignty • Given Norway's aggressive stance against EU fishing interests post-Brexit, Europêche calls for rejection of the EEA Financial Mechanism 2021-2028

News

iFish, We Fish

The commercial fisheries of the EU stretch for thousands of square miles, from the inhospitable seas of the Arctic North, to the warmer and more favourable climes of the Southern Mediterranean. These communal waters harbour a plethora of commercial species of fish and shellfish, the landings of which form an integral part of the economies of 23 member countries, accounting for a colossal 4.9 million tonne catch, from a fleet of 87,500 vessels, a statistic that indicates a world ranking of 5th largest in terms of total output.

European Projects

Home by the Sea -Can fisheries and wind farms co-exist?

Sustainable fishing activities require space as does the development and operation of offshore wind farms. In order to safeguard the future of our seas and oceans, the EU adopted back in 2014 a Directive for maritime and coastal spatial planning urging Member States to ensure that human activities at sea take place in an efficient, safe and sustainable way and reduce users’ conflicts. At the same time, to tackle climate change, EU governments are determined to answer to the EU’s Paris Agreement nationally determined contribution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by 2030 compared to 1990. For this purpose, some countries are pushing to increase offshore wind power 40-fold by 2030 in Europe.

Needless to say, the European wind industry has an ambitious plan, hereby claiming a vast amount of space. Therefore, the question 'Can fisheries and wind farms co-exist?’ is a relevant but complex question which will become more pressing in the near future.

Home by the Sea by Hiske Ridder. www.conpuls.nl

On behalf of and many thanks to: Job Schot, Dirk Kraak and Cor Vonk,  www.vissersvoorvrijezee.nl. Julien Theore, Silvain Gallaisl and Olivier Becquet, https://pecheursartisans.com. Bertrand Wendling, https://sathoan.fr. Pim Visser, VisNed.nl. Rosalie Tukker, http://europeche.chil.me.