The European Union, on behalf of its 27 member states, has deposited its instrument of acceptance of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, marking a major development towards the Agreement’s entry into force. The EU’s instrument of acceptance was presented to Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in Paris on the side lines of the Organisation for Economic […]
Twenty multinational projects will receive over €117 million to contribute to the objectives of the EU Mission ‘Restore our Ocean and waters’: protect and restore biodiversity, cut pollution, support a sustainable blue economy. The projects gather 297 partners from 39 countries, including most of the EU Member States. Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and […]
In the third year of annual fisheries negotiations with the UK operating as an independent coastal state, the UK and EU agreed catch levels for 69 important fish stocks. This included some of the most commercially valuable stocks to the UK fishing industry such as North Sea Nephrops (£54m), Anglerfish (£31m) and Western hake (£25m). […]
The ‘EU Fish Market’ is a comprehensive analysis of the global and EU fishery and aquaculture market. Three highlights of the 2022 edition: 1. Continuation of covid-19 effects on consumption of fish and seafood In 2021, European citizens continued to consume more fish and seafood products at home. The household expenditure on fish and seafood in […]
Following advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), the EU Commission closed 87 sensitive marine areas in EU waters to bottom fishing. The closed areas amount to 16,000 km2of EU waters, of which nearly 9,000 km2 are within the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Thanks to the Deep-Sea Access Regulation, waters below […]
More than 200 scientists have signed a statement calling for the prohibition of bottom trawling, and other industrial activities, in the EU’s Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). The statement was led by Enric Sala, of National Geographic Pristine Seas, and the press statement follows here: September 12, 2022 – More than 200 scientists have signed a statement calling for […]
The European Commission decided on Thursday 15 September to close parts of the Northeast Atlantic to bottom fishing. The measure is aimed at protecting vulnerable ecosystems in the deep sea, the Brussels Times reported. The Commission said it was closing “87 sensitive zones” off the coasts of France, Portugal, Spain and Ireland for bottom fishing […]
The European Commission is proposing the first-ever legislation that explicitly targets the restoration of Europe’s nature, to repair the 80% of European habitats that are in poor condition, and to bring back nature to all ecosystems, from forest and agricultural land to marine, freshwater and urban ecosystems. Under this proposal for a Nature Restoration Law, legally binding targets for nature […]