OpenLobby.EU
Explore

Funding Fish

The aim is to achieve sustainable fisheries in Europe.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Helena Braun (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans) and FUNDACION OCEANA and Seas At Risk

17 Mar 2021 · EU 2030 Biodiversity Strategy and the preparation of the Action Plan to conserve fisheries resources and protect marine ecosystems

Meeting with Rozalina Petrova (Cabinet of Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius) and FUNDACION OCEANA and Seas At Risk

17 Mar 2021 · EU 2030 Biodiversity Strategy and the preparation of the Action Plan to conserve fisheries resources and protect marine ecosystems

Meeting with Virginijus Sinkevičius (Commissioner) and

12 Feb 2021 · To discuss different blue/marine related issues, in particular bycatch emergency measures, EU-UK negotiations and implementation of the Biodiversity Strategy.

Meeting with Carmen Preising (Cabinet of Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius) and FUNDACION OCEANA and Seas At Risk

5 Nov 2020 · Action Plan fisheries and fishing opportunities, offshore renewable energy strategy

Meeting with Virginijus Sinkevičius (Commissioner) and

14 Oct 2020 · To discuss the upcoming Commission proposals for fishing opportunities for the North Sea/ Atlantic and for the Deep Sea.

Meeting with Carmen Preising (Cabinet of Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius)

25 Sept 2020 · Overfishing

Meeting with Virginijus Sinkevičius (Commissioner) and

16 Jul 2020 · To discuss the fishing opportunities exercise for 2021, in particular for the Baltic Sea, as well as issues related to the Biodiversity Strategy.

Meeting with Carmen Preising (Cabinet of Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius) and FUNDACION OCEANA and Seas At Risk

1 Jul 2020 · economic recovery and marine ecosystems

Meeting with Helena Braun (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans) and FUNDACION OCEANA and Seas At Risk vzw

1 Jul 2020 · economic recovery and marine ecosystems

Meeting with Helena Braun (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans) and FUNDACION OCEANA and Seas At Risk vzw

27 May 2020 · EU Green Deal and marine biodiversity

Response to Farm to Fork Strategy

16 Mar 2020

There will be no “sustainable” EU seafood until the EU ends overfishing. This a no-brainer for the provision of healthy food and the only way to deliver for dependent communities. “The EU has committed to the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and to being a frontrunner in its implementation”. Goal 14.4 states, “By 2020, effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and destructive fishing practices and implement science-based management plans, in order to restore fish stocks in the shortest time feasible, at least to levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield as determined by their biological characteristics.” The EU has failed to do this; this is not being a frontrunner, this is being a laggard. Not only is it a failure to reach this SDG goal, it is also a failure to reach its own self-imposed target within the Common Fisheries Policy. This has denied consumers and fisheries dependent communities of healthier fish populations, and is undermining ocean health. Reversing the EU’s thirty year addiction to overfishing does not require new solutions, it requires old-fashioned discipline. Changing the approach to fisheries management from one of maximising resource extraction, to maximising ecosystem health and functioning would provide a more reliable and abundant source of protein. The Farm to Fork Strategy is an opportunity to recommit to the implementation of existing targets and proven strategies in order to make seafood production ecologically sustainable and deliver benefits for consumers and communities. Specifically: 1. Implement in full of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP): - All harvested fish populations in the EU are fished below maximum sustainable yield (FMSY), in order to protect and restore wild fish populations to healthy levels; - Increase monitoring and enforcement of the Landing Obligation, to reduce unwanted catches and eliminate waste of fish and marine life; - End destructive, carbon-intensive fishing activities through implementation of Article 17, allocating more quota to fleet segments that have minimum environmental impact and maximum social and economic benefits; 2. Prioritisation of an up-to-date Fisheries Control Regulation that includes strong focus on increasing resources to monitoring and enforcement of CFP rules, specifically: - Require full documentation of all catches of fish and bycatch of threatened and protected species through remote electronic monitoring and CCTV on all vessels > 12m, and for vessels < 12m that are high-risk of non-compliance with the CFP; - Improve transparency so that all Member States’ reports on implementation of the fisheries control system are publicly available; - Improve and digitize traceability of seafood products to make them traceable from point-of-catch to point-of-sale, in order to combat IUU fishing and achieve healthy fisheries; - Standardize enforcement measures and sanctions for fisheries infringements. 3. Protect marine biodiversity, ocean ecosystem services in order to improve ocean resilience in the face of extreme climate change: - Require an environmental impact assessment as a condition of any request for fishing in all EU basins, only granting access to those who commit to fishing in a way which improves the environmental status of the ecosystem and fish populations. 4.End fisheries subsidies which increase capacity, public funds must support public goods: - Increase data collection, monitoring, control and enforcement of fishing activities, and the conservation and management of marine ecosystems; - Apply legal and fiscal repercussions on Member States who fail to implement EU laws for ecologically sustainable food systems. It is clearly reckless to continue sanctioning overfishing while purporting to be rolling out a Green Deal. There is no deal unless it embraces the importance and value of a healthy marine environment. #GreenDealBlue
Read full response

Meeting with Virginijus Sinkevičius (Commissioner) and

4 Feb 2020 · To discuss outcome of the Council of December 2019 and the NGO views regarding the process of setting the TACs and quotas

Meeting with Olivier Smith (Cabinet of President Ursula von der Leyen)

27 Jan 2020 · Oceans

Response to EU 2030 Biodiversity Strategy

20 Jan 2020

Our Fish appreciates the opportunity to make a submission to the roadmap for ‘Safeguarding nature – EU 2030 Biodiversity Strategy’. While the previous biodiversity strategy to 2020 has ambitious targets, progress has been stunningly inadequate - none of the six targets have been achieved - and we now face a planetary crisis. Specifically, we want to draw your attention to the huge loss of biodiversity and life in the ocean, and the need to prioritise this critical ecosystem in the 2030 Biodiversity Strategy. The ocean is the source of all life on the planet and plays a crucial role in regulating the climate, food supply, producing oxygen, storing carbon, and absorbing 90% of excess heat produced from human-activities. Fishing has had the biggest negative impact on biodiversity in marine ecosystems (IPBES, 2019). Destructive fishing methods and overfishing have led to substantial habitat and biodiversity loss, threatening the oceans capacity to perform ecosystem functions needed for human and planetary health. Review of Biodiversity Strategy 2020: Target 2 states that “By 2020, ecosystems and their services are maintained and enhanced…” It specifies that all EU funded projects will have a biodiversity impact assessment by 2014. However despite its huge impact on ocean biodiversity, the environmental impact of EU fishing – specifically, annual fishing above sustainable levels and the use of destructive, non-selective gears – is not assessed. To minimize the impact of marine biodiversity loss and maintain marine ecosystem services, a thorough environmental impact assessment must be made for all EU fishing. Target 4 of the existing strategy aims to “achieve Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) by 2015 and achieve a population age and size distribution indicative of a healthy stock… and support achieving Good Environmental Status by 2020”. Action 13 aims to improve the management of fish stocks in EU waters, however implementation has slowed (STECF, 2019). MSY has not been treated as a limit but as a starting point for negotiating upwards, and consequently the health of many EU fish stocks is still declining, with some populations and ecosystems on the verge of collapse. Moreover, MSY may no longer be enough, unless we rebuild fish populations, they will lack the resilience to cope with the extra stress of climate chaos. Action 14 aims to “reduce discards gradually and avoid by-catch as well as implement the Marine Strategy Framework Directive consistently”. There has been massive non-compliance in all EU MSs with the ban on discards, and no adequate control system (STECF, 2018). There has been minimal implementation of the MSFD and there have been no measures to restore EU seas back to a good environmental status. Over 98% of EU marine protected areas (MPA) do not have a management plan and fishing activity is often even higher inside MPAs than outside. Biodiversity Strategy 2030 – More Action, Less Words: The loss of marine biodiversity and the degradation of ocean ecosystems are alarming. A healthy and functioning ocean ecosystem is central to our ability to address the biodiversity and climate crisis, and it must be central to the 2030 Biodiversity Strategy and a new EU Green Deal. The refusal of EU Member States to deliver on biodiversity strategies is driving the planet to become uninhabitable, and must come at a cost – legal and/or financial – for those governments. So, while any new Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 must be even more ambitious than the previous strategies in terms of the damage that it needs to fix, the real challenge is clear – we know what needs to be done, we just need to make it happen. The EU needs to increase efforts to deliver the 2020 biodiversity targets, and raise their ambition for 2030, including: - Environmental impact assessments of all fishing activities - Protect at least 30% of all marine ecosystems by 2030 - Adopt the High Seas Treaty - Ban deep sea mining
Read full response

Meeting with Andras Inotai (Cabinet of Vice-President Karmenu Vella)

16 Oct 2019 · Fishing opportunities in the Baltic, Maximum Sustainable Yield

Meeting with Andras Inotai (Cabinet of Vice-President Karmenu Vella)

22 Nov 2018 · Common Fisheries Policy

Meeting with Andras Inotai (Cabinet of Vice-President Karmenu Vella) and WWF European Policy Programme and

11 Jan 2018 · Fisheries Control Regulation