The Roadmap to a healthy ocean in 2030

  • roadmap bottle one
  • EU countries adopt the necessary measures to ensure that EU freshwater is in good status under the Water Framework Directive.

  • EU countries adopt the necessary measures to ensure that EU seas are in good environmental status under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive.

  • EU countries designate and protect all marine Natura 2000 sites from harmful activities under the Birds and Habitats Directives.

  • EU countries end overfishing of all harvested stocks under the Common Fisheries Policy.

  • EU countries take measures to end illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in their waters, by their fleet or by their citizens, under the IUU Regulation, and to fully implement the Deep-Sea Regulation.

  • roadmap bottle two
  • EU adopts a Biodiversity Strategy 2030 that protects sensitive marine species and habitats and fish stock recovery areas, eliminates destructive fishing and includes legally binding ocean restoration targets.

  • EU adopts a new Circular Economy Action Plan that includes measures to reduce absolute resource use, including plastic, increase resource efficiency and prevents leakage of plastics and microplastics in the sea.

  • EU adopts a Farm to Fork strategy that fully takes into account the ecological and climate impacts of fisheries and aquaculture and addresses responsible consumption and sustainably sourced and traceable seafood.

  • EU allocates at least 21 billion EUR of the Multiannual Financial Framework for 2021 - 2027 to protect nature, with at least 50% of the European Maritime Fisheries Fund to restore the marine environment, collect data and control fisheries, and revises the State Aid guidelines for fisheries and aquaculture to prohibit granting of harmful subsidies.

  • EU pushes for the adoption of a Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework under the Convention on Biological Diversity with protection and restoration targets for marine ecosystems globally.

  • EU pushes for the adoption of an ambitious Global Ocean Treaty to protect marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction worldwide at the 4th session of the Intergovernmental Conference on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction.

  • roadmap bottle two
  • EU adopts an Offshore Wind Strategy which fully takes into account the impacts on marine ecosystems of the development of offshore wind energy production plants.

  • EU adopts a Chemicals strategy for sustainability and a Zeropollution strategy with clear goals to prevent exposure to harmful chemicals in air, soil and water (through the Water Quality Action Plan) to ensure a non-toxic environment for current and future generations.

  • EU removes fuel tax exemptions for fishing vessels and shipping under the revised Energy Taxation Directive.

  • EU pushes for the adoption of urgent short-term measures at the International Maritime Organization to ban Heavy Fuel Oils in the Arctic and reduce ship speed to decrease GHG emissions, noise levels and whale strikes.

  • EU establishes a moratorium on deep seabed mining, stops financial support to research into deep seabed mining technology and, with EU countries, pushes for the adoption of a global moratorium in the International Seabed Authority.

  • EU revises the Control Regulation to ensure full compliance of the fishing sector with fisheries and nature laws, requiring fully documented and transparent fisheries, and to ensure that no products from IUU fisheries reach the EU market.

  • roadmap bottle three
  • EU countries implement effective fisheries management measures to eliminate bycatch of sensitive species.

  • EU countries adopt ecosystem-based Maritime Spatial Plans which include at least 30% of highly or fully protected MPAs and areas for human activities allocated based on ecosystem sensitivity.

  • EU adopts a fundamental reform of the Common Agricultural Policy that aims to stop the loss of nutrients from fertilisers and manure into soil and water bodies, causing eutrophication, by fully implementing EU water and nitrates legislation in agriculture.

  • EU countries transpose into national law the Directives on Port Reception Facilities and on Single Use Plastics with ambitious consumption reduction targets for food containers and beverage cups.

  • EU includes shipping in its Emissions Trading System.

  • EU countries ratify and implement the Global Ocean Treaty.

  • roadmap bottle four
  • EU addresses substances of emerging concern, such as pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and microplastics, in the revised Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive.

  • EU adopts a revised Bathing Waters Directive, which ensures good quality of, and safe access to, coastal and marine waters with high environmental and health standards.

  • EU establishes trawl-free zones along the whole EU coast to protect the most 
productive part of our seas and protects all EU Marine Protected Areas from the negative impacts of destructive fishing gears.

  • EU countries adopt legally binding measures to achieve a constant and measurable 
reduction in underwater noise emissions.

  • EU bans all new offshore oil and gas exploration and production, and adopts a strategy to phase out current offshore oil and gas extraction.

  • EU countries set up binding schemes for Extended Producer Responsibility for single-use plastics and fishing gear to maximise eco-design and prevention.

  • roadmap bottle six
  • EU pushes at the IMO for an emissions reduction pathway for international shipping that is compatible with the Paris Agreement’s objective of keeping warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius. 2023-2025.

  • Based on the evaluation of the Common Fisheries Policy, EU adopts an Action Plan to ensure its effective implementation resulting in a full transition to low impact EU fisheries. 2023-2025.

  • roadmap bottle one
  • EU adopts legislative measures to reduce the main sources of unintentionally released microplastics and prevent the loss of pre-production pellets. 2023-2025.

  • EU pushes for the adoption of measures to restrict flags of convenience to close the net on pirate fishers and improve international ocean governance. 2023-2025.

  • EU adopts regulations that ensures that all aquaculture production in EU seas is non-polluting and does not rely on marine animal-derived feed ingredients. 2023-2025.

  • roadmap fish small
  • EU dedicates all of the new European Maritime and Fisheries Fund to activities aimed at restoring and managing the marine environment, collecting data and controlling fisheries. 2026-2029.

  • EU takes all necessary measures to protect deep-sea marine ecosystems, which are particularly vulnerable to human activities due to unique environmental conditions, by prohibiting all harmful extractive activities in the deep sea. 2026-2029.

  • roadmap fish large
  • Based on the Action Plan, EU countries have taken all necessary measures to ensure a full transition to low impact fisheries, including by prohibiting the use of non-selective and destructive fishing gears and techniques in EU waters and by EU vessels, including distant water fleets. 2026-2029.

2020

2030