Seas At Risk and Low Impact Fishers of Europe (LIFE) welcome the European Commission’s direction for fisheries in 2040, calling for full implementation of existing rules and funding to match its ambitions.

The European Commission’s ‘Vision 2040 for Fisheries and Aquaculture’, published today [20 October] (1), reflects several priorities long advocated by Seas At Risk, LIFE and their partners in the Rethink Fisheries group: acknowledging the need for fair treatment of small-scale fishers, making the sector attractive to future generations, and improving fisheries management with an ecosystem approach. 

Seas At Risk and LIFE welcome this alignment as an encouraging sign that the voices of small-scale and low-impact fishers and coastal communities are helping shape the future of European fisheries. The Rethink Fisheries vision sets out a roadmap towards fair, low-impact fisheries that restore marine ecosystems, support fishing communities and ensure that the benefits of marine resources are shared more equitably.

But a vision alone will not deliver this transition. The Commission and Member States must now turn these ambitions into concrete action, backed by adequate financial resources and the full implementation of existing EU fisheries law. This is particularly urgent given that the EU budget proposals recently announced risk directing support towards industrial fishing interests rather than low-impact fishers, coastal communities and the ecosystems they depend on that should be at the heart of a fair transition.

The emphasis on improved implementation of the existing legal framework, as well as the continued absence of an announced impact assessment for a potential reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) are also encouraging signals.  It indicates that the EU recognises the importance of implementing the existing framework rather than embarking on a potentially destabilising reopening of the policy. Seas At Risk has campaigned for years for the full implementation of the CFP, rather than reopening it for reform. 

The CFP already provides tools to rebuild fish populations, protect marine ecosystems and secure the long-term viability of fishing communities. The priority now must be to use those tools fully and consistently. Reopening the policy risks opening a Pandora’s box, creating opportunities to weaken hard-won environmental safeguards just when their implementation is most urgently needed.

“While the Vision reflects several priorities we and low-impact fishers have been advocating for years, the real measure of success will be concrete action and implementation. The CFP already provides the tools we need; what is missing is the political will to use them fully and the funding to make the transition  possible. The Commission has stepped up today as a leader in the right direction. Now together with Member States it must deliver on the rules already in place, not reopen them to further uncertainty,” said Dr Monica Verbeek, Executive Director of Seas At Risk.

“The future of fisheries lies in fair, low-carbon, low-impact fishing that brings social, environmental and economic values into balance, while creating opportunities for a new generation of fishers,” said Marta Cavallé, Executive Secretary at the Low Impact Fishers of Europe. “We welcome a vision that places the wellbeing of people and the nature we depend on at the centre and which recognises the value of small-scale fishers, supports them and the need for fair fisheries with an equitable distribution of benefits, for this generation and for those to come.”

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITOR 

  1. The European Commission has published today the Vision package comprising three non-legally binding Commission Communications. EU ‘Vision 2040 for Fisheries and Aquaculture’, a 2050 Energy Transition Roadmap for fisheries and aquaculture, and a strategy on the external dimension of EU fisheries. The three texts together will guide how the EU approaches the future of the seafood sector, from production and fisheries management to aquaculture, energy use and international relations.

Seas At Risk is an association of environmental organisations working together to ensure a healthy, thriving and climate-resilient ocean that supports all life. Its mission is to promote ambitious policies for marine protection and restoration at European and international level.  As a network of over 37 environmental organisations from across Europe, representing the majority of European countries, Seas At Risk speaks for millions of citizens that care deeply about the health of the ocean and wellbeing of all life.  

Low Impact Fishers of Europe (LIFE) is a European association representing the interests of small-scale fishers’ organizations, bringing together around 10,000 small-scale fishers across all European sea basins, from the Baltic to the Black Sea.

Posted on: 20 October 2026