Today, a delegation of fishing representatives from Europêche met with Mr Karmenu Vella, Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries to discuss the main topics at the top of the political and legislative fisheries agenda in the EU. Both Commissioner Vella and Europêche credited the great progress in achieving sustainable fisheries with already 97% of the landings in the North East Atlantic coming from EU managed stocks fished at Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) levels. The sector showed support to Commissioner Vella to continue proposing the necessary legislation to implement the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), however called for rational policies which take into consideration socio-economic aspects and that can be implemented in practice.

During the Seafood Expo Global 2018 that will take place from 24-26 of April in Brussels, gathering stakeholders from every corner of the globe, the European Commission will hold an event featuring the importance of food security and the social dimension of fisheries. The Seafood Expo creates the perfect platform to get Europe’s message on the three sustainability dimensions of fisheries management across with thousands of seafood professionals all together. More specifically, the social pillar will be at the core of the event and will touch upon subjects like international conventions, working conditions, safety, training and fight against forced labour.

Marine litter and plastic waste have been identified as one of the main threats to the oceans and the marine ecosystems, to the point that many have voiced that by 2050 there will be more plastics than fish in our oceans. Scientists have estimated that up to 12 million tonnes of plastic is entering our oceans every year. Fishermen are deeply concerned since fish stocks heavily depend on a healthy marine environment. Europêche members, aware of the problem, increasingly getting involved in environmental schemes to help combat the growing issue of marine litter and encourage fishermen across Europe to participate in recycling and clean up initiatives.