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European Association of Fish Producers Organisations

EAPO

The European Association of Fish Producers Organisations represents 31 organizations managing sustainable EU fisheries.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Costas Kadis (Commissioner) and

1 Dec 2025 · Presentation of the proposal for a “Blue Foods” project and action plan

Meeting with Gabriele Giudice (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto), Kyriacos Kyriacou (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto) and

20 Oct 2025 · Presentation of call for an EU Action Plan on Blue Foods

Response to Sustainable fishing in the EU: state of play and orientations for 2026

31 Aug 2025

The European Association of Fish Producers Organisations (EAPO) expresses its satisfaction that the Commissions communication on sustainable fishing in the EU: state of play and orientations for 2026, begins by mentioning the improvement of the sustainability of European fisheries with more fish stocks fished at sustainable levels. Similarly to last year's document, it highlights the improvement in the status of many stocks across sea basins, including the Northeast Atlantic. Fishing mortality continues to decrease, reflecting the efforts made by the EU fishing industry in the last decade. However, it also underlines the pressures other than fisheries that are increasingly affecting fish stocks. Although mentioned in the preamble, the issue is not further addressed. The impacts of climate change are now being seen, and this needs to be considered in setting fishing opportunities in the future as well as remedial measures and financial support that may be needed. Proactive policies must now be implemented to reduce the impact of anthropogenic factors on the quality of the marine environment and to adapt fisheries management methods through ecosystem-based approaches. Additionally, the impacts of renewable energy development as well as pollution on stocks and fisheries is understated in the Communication.
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Response to Implementing Act on the provision applying as from January 2026 of the amended Fisheries Control Regulation

25 Aug 2025

The European Association of Fish Producers Organisations (EAPO) was founded in 1980 and is unifying 31 Producers Organisations among 12 EU Member States. As an association of European recognised Producers Organisations, our key role is to assist our members, and the people onboard the 4.000 fishing vessels they represent in achieving the objectives of the Common Fishery Policy (CFP) and the Common Market Organisation (CMO) for fishery and aquaculture products. EAPO aims to strengthen the cooperation between European POs by looking for common grounds in addressing the challenges for European fisheries, such as securing sustainable food production through socio-economic viability, with respect for the environment, cultural heritage and livelihoods. As Producers Organisations, EAPO members play a primary role in the implementation of the Common Fisheries Policy and in promoting the viable and sustainable fishing activities of their members in line with article 2 of the CFP. In this context, EAPO members are fully supporting the objective of improving the Unions fisheries control framework. However, they express significant concerns regarding several proposals of this legislative initiative, as well as about the stakeholder consultation process undertaken. We can only regret the poor timing chosen for the consultation process. Not only is the four-week deadline questionable, but opening a public consultation in the middle of the summer holiday period excludes de facto full participation in the process. The current approach is leaving little time for proper analysis of this highly technical legislative text and its impacts. The opportunity for comprehensive assessment by member states has been limited while there has been no meaningful engagement with stakeholders who will be impacted by this legislation. In fact, as an association of Producers Organisations, EAPO relies heavily on consulting its members to gather information and contributions from across different Member States, several regions and various types of fisheries in order to provide feedback to the Commission through this type of exercise. Several important points caught our attention and would have been worth exploring in more details in order for us to shed light on them as professionals of the sector and key stakeholders, like the traceability, the vessel position data articles or the weighing and margins of tolerance measures. The revised control regulation in combination with the proposed delegated and implementing regulations introduce additional layers of complexity, additional cost for operators as well as increased administrative burden. In many cases the purpose of the additional or revised rules is not clearly specified and the practicality of fishers complying with the rules questionably. Contrary to the principle of public consultation, it represents an unacceptable limitation on stakeholder engagement. This approach undermines confidence in the consultation process and risks damaging the relationship between EU institutions and the fisheries sector. EAPO emphasizes the need for the European Commission to adopt a more comprehensive and inclusive approach when developing these proposals, in collaboration with the relevant stakeholders and Member States. We are fully committed to engaging in a constructive dialogue with the Commission to ensure that this essential legislation truly facilitates the implementation of the control regulation, without creating impractical rules that the industry would find impossible to comply with. We would therefore like to reiterate the importance of a process based on a more inclusive and forward-looking approach, which will foster fruitful cooperation.
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Response to Delegated Act on the provision applying as from January 2026 of the amended Fisheries Control Regulation

12 Aug 2025

The European Association of Fish Producers Organisations (EAPO) was founded in 1980 and is unifying 31 Producers Organisations among 12 EU Member States. As an association of European recognised Producers Organisations, our key role is to assist our members, and the people onboard the 4.000 fishing vessels they represent in achieving the objectives of the Common Fishery Policy (CFP) and the Common Market Organisation (CMO) for fishery and aquaculture products. EAPO aims to strengthen the cooperation between European POs by looking for common grounds in addressing the challenges for European fisheries, such as securing sustainable food production through socio-economic viability, with respect for the environment, cultural heritage and livelihoods. As Producers Organisations, EAPO members play a primary role in the implementation of the Common Fisheries Policy and in promoting the viable and sustainable fishing activities of their members in line with article 2 of the CFP. In this context, EAPO members are fully supporting the objective of improving the Unions fisheries control framework. However, they express significant concerns regarding several proposals of this legislative initiative, as well as about the stakeholder consultation process undertaken. We can only regret the poor timing chosen for the consultation process. Not only is the four-week deadline questionable, but opening a public consultation in the middle of the summer holiday period excludes de facto full participation in the process. The current approach is leaving little time for proper analysis of this highly technical legislative text and its impacts. The opportunity for comprehensive assessment by member states has been limited while there has been no meaningful engagement with stakeholders who will be impacted by this legislation. In fact, as an association of Producers Organisations, EAPO relies heavily on consulting its members to gather information and contributions from across different Member States, several regions and various types of fisheries in order to provide feedback to the Commission through this type of exercise. Several important points caught our attention and would have been worth exploring in more details in order for us to shed light on them as professionals of the sector and key stakeholders. Among these points are the administrative burden related to such a highly technical document, the implementation challenges and the lack of transitional support together with legal inconsistencies, or the inspection procedures and the impacts of onboard control observers on operational and financial considerations. Contrary to the principle of public consultation, it represents an unacceptable limitation on stakeholder engagement. This approach undermines confidence in the consultation process and risks damaging the relationship between EU institutions and the fisheries sector. EAPO emphasizes the need for the European Commission to adopt a more comprehensive and inclusive approach when developing these proposals, in collaboration with the relevant stakeholders and Member States. We are fully committed to engaging in a constructive dialogue with the Commission to ensure that this essential legislation truly facilitates the implementation of the control regulation, without creating impractical rules that the industry would find impossible to comply with. We would therefore like to reiterate the importance of a process based on a more inclusive and forward-looking approach, which will foster fruitful cooperation.
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Meeting with Francesca Arena (Cabinet of Commissioner Costas Kadis), Ralitza Rosenova Petkova (Cabinet of Commissioner Costas Kadis)

2 Jul 2025 · Implementing rules for the weighing of fishery products

Meeting with Fabrizio Donatella (Director Maritime Affairs and Fisheries) and

3 Apr 2025 · Discussion on Coastal States Negotiations and IS MoU

European Fish Producers Urge Prioritizing Fisheries in Ocean Pact

17 Feb 2025
Topic — The European Oceans Pact creates a vision for a holistic approach to maritime policies.
Message — EAPO requests the European Oceans Pact prioritizes fishermen in maritime policy to ensure food security. They call for reviewing specific fishing regulations and an action plan to promote seafood consumption.123
Why — This strategy would provide the fishing fleet with more funding and protection against global competition.45
Impact — Third-country fishing fleets and land-based polluters would face higher costs and stricter environmental requirements.67
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Response to Evaluation of the Common Fisheries Policy

6 Sept 2024

On behalf of EAPO, The European Association of Fish Producers Organisations, we hereby submit our contribution to the public consultation on "the Common fisheries policy evaluation". EAPO's contribution is detailed in the attached document. We kindly ask you to take the content of this document into consideration and remain available for further discussion.
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Response to Sustainable fishing in the EU: state of play and orientations for 2025

30 Aug 2024

On behalf of EAPO, The European Association of Fish Producers Organisations, we hereby submit our contribution to the public consultation on Sustainable fishing in the EU: state of play and orientations for 2025. EAPO's contribution is detailed in the attached document. We kindly ask you to take the content of this document into consideration and remain available for further discussion.
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Response to Correction to the multiannual programmes for fisheries

31 Jan 2024

EAPO members welcome the Commissions proposal to delete the 5% rule. From EAPOs perspective, this will limit inconsistencies, ensuring that effective measures are carried out to rebuild fish stocks. Seeing as this proposal comes at the end of the mandate, EAPO members request that no further additions to the proposal be made to ensure a swift adoption by all co-legislators. Moreover, EAPO members welcome the planned reports on all three Multi-Annual plans and are ready to provide feedback to the commission on MAP revisions to come.
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Meeting with François-Xavier Bellamy (Member of the European Parliament)

27 Nov 2023 · Enjeux stratégiques de la pêche - sécurité, souveraineté et puissance économique

Meeting with Virginijus Sinkevičius (Commissioner) and

18 Oct 2023 · Meeting with the fishing and fish processing sector’s representatives from the Baltic Sea countries to discuss the Commission proposal on fishing opportunities in the Baltic Sea for 2024.

Response to Sustainable fishing in the EU: state of play and orientations for 2024

31 Aug 2023

Please find attached EAPO's feedback to the Commission Consultation on fishing opportunities for 2024. Best regards, Paul
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Response to Detailed rules on selective devices in the Baltic Sea

7 Jul 2023

Please find attached the EAPO reply on the Selective devices for fishing in the Baltic Sea (new detailed rules) Commission Consultation.
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Meeting with Pierre Karleskind (Member of the European Parliament) and Seas At Risk

29 Jun 2023 · écosystèmes marins

Meeting with Caroline Roose (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur for opinion) and Seas At Risk

29 Jun 2023 · Conférence SEArica "La dimension marine de la Loi sur la Restauration de la Nature"

Meeting with Virginijus Sinkevičius (Commissioner) and

6 Feb 2023 · To listen to the EAPO views about the main elements of the upcoming Marine Action Plan ahead to its adoption

Response to Energy transition of EU fisheries and aquaculture sector

3 Dec 2022

Please find attached the European Association of fish Producers Organisations' reply to the Consultation on Energy transition. The European Association of Fish Producers Organisations (EAPO) represents 28 POs from 9 EU Member States, with approximately 10,000 vessels, 3.5 million tonnes of landings and 3 billion first sale value. EAPO was founded in 1980.
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Meeting with Agne Razmislaviciute-Palioniene (Cabinet of Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius)

23 Nov 2022 · Meeting on fleet decommissioning from BAR

Meeting with Virginijus Sinkevičius (Commissioner) and

20 Oct 2022 · To discuss and answer questions about the implementing regulation on vulnerable marine ecosystems

Response to Communication on the functioning of the Common Fisheries Policy

23 Sept 2022

Pleas find attached the European Association of fish Producers Organisations' feedback.
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Response to Sustainable fishing in the EU: state of play and orientations for 2023

24 Aug 2022

Please find attached the European Association of fish Producers Association (EAPO). EAPO represents 28 POs from 9 EU Member States, with approximately 10,000 vessels, 3.5 million tonnes of landings and € 3 billion first sale value. EAPO was founded in 1980. Every Fish PO recognized by its EU member state can apply for membership of the association.
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Meeting with Virginijus Sinkevičius (Commissioner) and

1 Apr 2022 · The follow up meeting with the sector to discuss the Commission response to the crisis in the fisheries sector, to present the measures adopted and planned

Meeting with Virginijus Sinkevičius (Commissioner) and

14 Mar 2022 · To discuss the impact of increasing fuel and raw material prices on the fishing sector

Response to Revision of the Energy Tax Directive

18 Nov 2021

Dear Madam, Dear Sir, Please find attached the feedback text of The European Association of Fish Producers Organisations (EAPO) with regard to the Revision of the Energy Taxation Directive.
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Meeting with Virginijus Sinkevičius (Commissioner)

28 Oct 2021 · Opening speech at EAPO’s General Assembly, touching upon 2022 fishing opportunities, and sharing general reflections on relevant policy priorities under the European Green Deal (specifically the Biodiversity Strategy and the Farm to Fork Strategy).

Meeting with Virginijus Sinkevičius (Commissioner) and

30 Jun 2021 · To discuss the situation with North East Atlantic Mackerel

Fish Producers Urge Partner Status in EU Marine Protection Plan

12 May 2021
Topic — EU action plan addressing fisheries' impact on sensitive species and marine habitats.
Message — EAPO insists that fishermen must be partners in designing the action plan to ensure success. They call for a dialogue balancing biodiversity goals with food production and coastal welfare.123
Why — Direct involvement helps the industry prevent regulations that could restrict fishing activity or cause operational displacement.45
Impact — Environmental groups lose if biodiversity goals are diluted by the industry's focus on socio-economic welfare.6
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Response to Setting of nutrient profiles

3 Feb 2021

Summary: Europêche and EAPO are of the opinion that the revision of the FIC regulation should fall within the remit of the Farm to Fork, Sea to Plate Strategy. Therefore, it should ensure that the environmental, socio-economic, and nutritional qualities of wild caught EU seafood products are recognised and put forward on front-of-pack nutrition labelling. These qualities are essential for reaching the EU climate and biodiversity targets, as well as reaching SDGs (specifically 2, 3, 8, 13, and 14) and should thus be recognised and made clear to the consumer. Subsequently, the FIC regulation should allow consumers to benefit from appropriate geographical information on the origin of the products bought regardless of whether these are fresh, frozen, canned, processed, and imported. The EU regulations guarantee socio-economic and environmental sustainability of EU products, consequently, the (flag state vessel and catch area) information on origin of products have to be made mandatory, empowering consumers to choose EU seafood products achieving high sustainability requirements. Please read the full feedback attached.
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Response to Contingency plan for ensuring food supply and food security

12 Jan 2021

EAPO welcomes the initiative to develop a contingency plan for ensuring food supply and food security. The Roadmap published by the Commission on the 27th of November presents the creation of a permanent forum to work on a common EU food crisis response mechanism and develop a set of broad guidelines and recommendations to improve coordination. Fisheries have been hit by the COVID crisis at an unprecedented scale. The trade and value chain disruptions, collapse of demand and prices, and temporary cessation of fishing activities exposed the lack of resilience of the EU food system. More specifically, the fishing sector has suffered from a huge level of pressure as a result of the crisis. It had to face issues regarding crew changes (in connection with closed borders, travel restrictions, and quarantines), the lack of available protective personal equipment (masks, gloves…) at the beginning of the crisis, in certain cases, staff shortages because of self-isolation/sickness, shortage of physicians for cases of repatriation of sick or injured and regular medical care in foreign ports. Fishermen had to face the disappearance of large sections of demand: in the HORECA sector (affecting a number of key, high-value species that do not always have another market), schools, factories, and administrations during the lockdown periods, outdoor local markets and the drastic reduction of tourism. Loss of demand also appeared for fisheries selling in third-countries, sometimes linked to important loss of consumer purchasing power (African market for instance). In time of crisis, the timeliness of the answer is key. Not all companies have the same ability to handle crisis and this poses a risk to employment. An effective response is needed to alleviate the threat to livelihoods and ultimately to the EU’s food security. As the COVID-19 crisis unfolded, EAPO has quickly alerted the Commission about the need for a swift answer to ensure that fishing continued during the crisis. A series of measures have been proposed to tackle the issues faced as soon as March 2020. The crisis showed the urgent need for the EU to support the sector in order to ensure food security and sovereignty. Fishermen suffered from the collapse of demand and prices, leading to increase storage needs. New rules allowing for increased financial support of storage (storage aid rate increased) and for increased used of storage mechanism were instrumental to help overcome this issue. Financial support was also allowed for through temporary cessation schemes but were not always sufficient at national level. The new fund, EMFAF, has included new measures to help fishermen respond to exceptional crises such as storage aid and compensations to operators for their income foregone or additional costs. This step goes in the right direction. Nevertheless, long term effects of crisis also need to be accounted for and support should be provided in that sense. One measure helpful in that regard has been called for by EAPO from the start and consists in launching an EU wide communication campaign reaching out to a wide audience, promoting seafood consumption. A joint communication strategy would be needed to coordinate it with local communication and promotion initiatives. This will contribute to help reboot the sector. EAPO welcomes the Commission’s initiative on EU food crisis preparedness and response mechanism proposed in the Roadmap and look forward to the permanent forum’s first meeting that should include stakeholder’s representation.
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Response to Green Recovery for the Blue Economy (tentative)

7 Dec 2020

Europêche and EAPO’s highlight that: 1) EU fisheries provide the healthiest animal protein globally with the lowest carbon footprint, making fish products fit with the EU environmental sustainability goals; 2) While the contribution to total carbon emissions by the maritime sector is less than 3%, the CO2 emissions from fishing continues to decrease to a 40% reduction compared to 1990 and the energetic efficiency (ton of fish/litter of fuel) of the sector continues to increase tremendously over the years; 3) Almost 100% of the landings from EU-regulated stocks come from catches fished at the MSY levels, and close to 80% of the fish consumed worldwide comes from sustainable stocks ; 4) Fishing provide jobs both at sea but also directly and indirectly on-shore, sustaining coastal communities, maritime regions’ economies, and providing livelihoods; 5) In 2018, 272,000 people were engaged in the primary European sector of fisheries in Europe, although suffering a significant employment reduction of 28% since 1995 ; 6) Knowledge gaps are still important regarding the effects of emerging Blue Economy activities. Integrated strategic impact assessments of the cumulative environmental and socio-economic consequences of those activities are key for them to truly contribute to the Green future; and 7) Fisheries depend on the good health of marine ecosystems to operate and are regulated through the Common Fisheries Policy, ensuring sustainable use of resources It is therefore recommendable to: 1) Work with a bottom-up approach, including all affected sectors when it comes to new Blue Economy activities and integrated maritime spatial planning; 2) Promote cooperation between different marine uses, and stakeholders contribution to science and obtaining data; 3) Safeguard adequate marine space to fisheries via Maritime Spatial Planning to maintain the important contribution to food security and food sovereignty while allowing flexibility to adapt to climate change and pollution effects; 4) Remind and inform consumers of the safe, healthy, and smart choice seafood offers and encourage consumers to buy and prepare sustainable seafood; Improve availability and harmonisation of socio-economic data by increasing the quantity and quality of the social indicators; 5) Apply mitigation measures before, during, and after the respective activity; 6) Develop guidelines on the implementation of mitigation measures to lower conflicts between the sectors; and 7) In line with the level playing field approach and the precautionary approach, operations in new areas shall be conditioned to ex-ante and ex-post environmental impact assessments for all Blue Economy sector activities, with due consideration to socio-economic impact analysis as well as cumulative effects. Please see the full joint Europêche and EAPO feedback in attachment.
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European fish producers urge halt to offshore wind expansion

4 Aug 2020
Topic — The EU strategy aims to scale up offshore renewable energy for climate neutrality.
Message — The group demands a precautionary halt to offshore wind expansion until scientific research addresses environmental knowledge gaps. They urge the EU to prioritize sustainable seafood sovereignty over offshore energy projects.12
Why — This would prevent the displacement of fishers and protect traditional jobs from being replaced.3
Impact — Offshore wind developers and climate goals would suffer from stalled investments and reduced space.4
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Meeting with Charlina Vitcheva (Director-General Maritime Affairs and Fisheries) and Association of National Organisations of Fishing Enterprises in the European Union

30 Jun 2020 · Introduction meeting to have an exchange of views on current issues

Response to Review of the marketing standards framework for fishery and aquaculture products

4 May 2020

Please find EAPO's feedback in the attached document.
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Response to FuelEU Maritime

24 Apr 2020

Please find EAPO's feedback in the document attached.
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Response to Revision of the Energy Tax Directive

31 Mar 2020

Please refer to the attached document on behalf of EAPO
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Meeting with Joao Aguiar Machado (Director-General Maritime Affairs and Fisheries) and Association of National Organisations of Fishing Enterprises in the European Union

14 Feb 2017 · General exchange ov views on the implementation of the CFP / new organization of DG MARE

Meeting with Karmenu Vella (Commissioner)

20 Sept 2016 · coastal states consultations on mackerel, blue whiting and atlanto-scandian herring