© Clementine Laurent
Sustainable Fisheries
As the world’s largest market for seafood products, the European Union must lead by example with respect to driving sustainable fisheries, both within its territorial waters and worldwide.
Despite a wide range of tools available to improve fishing operations, the implementation of the CFP is facing significant challenges, as numerous fish stocks remain overexploited and hundreds of thousands of marine species are threatened by unsustainable practices.
At the WWF EPO, we use our Brussels-based presence and existing positive relationships with all stakeholders, including the EU institutions (European Commission, European Parliament and Council of the European Union) to strengthen legislative measures of key marine and fisheries files. We offer evidence-based solutions for improved practices and for successful implementation of the legislation to achieve the targets currently in place.
Why it matters
Globally, 60% of assessed fish stocks remain overfished or fully fished. The effective implementation of the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) would ensure that all fishing activities carried out by the EU fleet are environmentally, socially and economically sustainable.
Despite a wide range of tools available to improve fishing operations, the implementation of the CFP is facing significant challenges, as numerous fish stocks remain overexploited and hundreds of thousands of marine species are threatened by unsustainable practices.
What WWF is doing
At the WWF EPO, we use our Brussels-based presence and existing positive relationships with all stakeholders, including the EU institutions (European Commission, European Parliament and Council of the European Union) to strengthen legislative measures of key marine and fisheries files. We offer evidence-based solutions for improved practices and for successful implementation of the legislation to achieve the targets currently in place.
Latest reports
What's In The Net (November 2020)
PDF 9.93 MB
Small-scale Fisheries in a Warming Ocean (October 2020)
PDF 7.13 MB
Seafood Sustainability, Stability & Security (June 2020)
PDF 18.19 MB
The status and future of sustainable fisheries partnership agreements in the South West Indian Ocean (November 2019)
PDF 14.18 MB
Evaluating Europe's Course to Sustainable Fisheries by 2020 (December 2018)
PDF 16.27 MB
Remote Electronic Monitoring in UK Fisheries Management (September 2017)
PDF 1.99 MB
Contacts
Katrin Vilhelm Poulsen
Senior Seafood Policy Officer
@katrinvilhelm
Alexandre Cornet
Ocean Policy Officer
@Alx_Cornet
Policy briefs & Position papers
Seafood traceability: exemptions risk fuelling illegal fishingSeafood traceability: exemptions risk fuelling illegal fishing (January 2021)
PDF 10.77 MB
Joint Position Paper: Making SFPA evaluations more efficient (September 2020)
PDF 160 KB
10 priorities for the future of Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements (May 2020)
PDF 2.18 MB
Joint NGO position paper: Will the EU doom our ocean and fishers? (January 2020)
PDF 1.73 MB
Policy brief - International level: Mitigating Climate Change Impacts on Food Security from the Ocean (December 2019)
PDF 2.14 MB
Joint NGO position paper: Revision of the EU Fisheries Control System (November 2019)
PDF 902 KB
Position paper: Ending harmful fisheries subsidies - it is vital for the WTO to take action now (October 2019)
PDF 880 KB
Joint NGO letter: European Parliament action on the EMFF (October 2019)
PDF 520 KB
Policy Brief: Empowering women in marine communities to mitigate the impacts of climate change (September 2019)
PDF 16.48 MB
Joint NGO reaction: Joint Declaration of the Spanish, French and Italian governments on the post 2020 European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (June 2019)
PDF 685 KB
Policy brief - EU-level: Mitigating Climate Change Impacts on Food Security from the Ocean (June 2019)
PDF 8.42 MB
Joint NGO letter: Addressed to WTO on harmful fisheries subsidies (April 2019)
PDF 1.02 MB
Joint NGO position paper: The effective transformation of the post-2020 EMFF (January 2019)
PDF 682 KB
WWF Policy Brief: Facing Up to the Landing Obligation (December 2018 )
PDF 222 KB
Policy brief: A vision for achieving sustainable fisheries in regional fisheries management organisations (July 2018)
PDF 247 KB
Position paper: Succeeding in oceans governance (September 2016)
PDF 464 KB