LIFE, the Prud’homie des pêcheurs de La Ciotat, the CDPMEM du Var, and the Plateforme de la petite pêche artisanale française jointly address Catherine Chabaud, French Minister of the Sea and Fisheries, calling for a fairer share of the newly increased bluefin tuna quota.
ICCAT’s latest assessments confirm a full recovery of Mediterranean bluefin tuna, leading to an expected 16% quota rise for France in 2026–2028 — more than 1,100 additional tonnes. We welcome this success, but stress that relying solely on historical catches to allocate quotas continues to exclude most small-scale, low-impact fishers.
We urge the Minister to adjust allocation rules so that the small-scale fleet — vital to local communities and marine stewardship — can finally access this emblematic resource. Even a limited rebalancing would strengthen small-scale fisheries without harming larger operators, while supporting traditional management systems such as the prud’homies.
As EU fisheries ministers prepare for the pivotal December Council meeting, we are issuing a united call with recreational fishers and environmental NGOs for a fundamental shift in how scientific advice on fishing opportunities is requested and used. In a joint letter to Commissioner Kadis, we urge the European Commission to ensure that future fishing limits and the science underpinning them fully align with the EU’s legal obligations and its broader ambition to deliver a healthy, resilient and productive ocean under the European Ocean Pact.
Across Europe’s sea basins, once-abundant commercial fish populations—from mackerel and cod to haddock and Baltic species—are showing alarming declines. Reversing these trends requires a renewed scientific advisory framework that explicitly prioritises stock recovery, precaution, ecosystem health, and the achievement of Good Environmental Status.The renewal of the Framework Partnership Agreement and the Specific Grant Agreement between the European Commission and the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), which is now imminent, is a decisive opportunity. We call on the Commission to update these agreements so that EU advice requests to ICES clearly seek rebuilding-focused, precautionary, ecosystem-based guidance, to champion lower fishing limits for 2026 where needed and to involve stakeholders more transparently in shaping future advisory processes.
By embedding recovery and ocean health into both policy and scientific advice, the Commission can steer EU fisheries management toward long-term sustainability, thriving coastal communities, and resilient marine ecosystems. We stand ready to support this transition and have requested a dialogue with the Commissioner to discuss concrete next steps.
Restoring Europe’s fish stocks and the ecosystems that sustain them must be an urgent political priority. For LIFE, this begins with fisheries management that draws only on the best available science.
The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) clearly states in Article 2.2 that fish populations must be restored and maintained above levels capable of producing maximum sustainable yield (MSY). Yet EU fisheries management has persistently failed to achieve this. A central reason lies in how ICES scientific advice is generated, interpreted, and applied. Biological reference points such as Btrigger and Blim—intended as warning thresholds—have instead been used as management targets, keeping many stocks dangerously close to their lowest viable levels. At the same time, ICES assessments often overlook key ecological realities, including predator–prey interactions, natural mortality changes, changing environmental conditions, and the natural age and size structure of fish populations.
The results are now visible across European waters. Years of overly optimistic biomass estimates and quotas set above precautionary levels have contributed to repeated stock collapses and long-term declines—from pollack, to Baltic cod, herring and sprat, to name a few. These failures point to a systemic issue: scientific advice is constrained by restricted modelling parameters, limited ecosystem context, and governance structures that do not incentivise stock recovery.
To reverse these trends, the EU must scrutinise how ICES advice is produced, mandate more ecosystem-based assessments, and ensure that the design and application of Multiannual Management Plans (MAPs) support—not hinder—stock rebuilding. The unique way in which the EU requests and ICES operationalise MSY urgently requires reform. Without clearer, recovery-oriented guidance, fish stocks will remain trapped in cycles of low biomass, and fishing viability—particularly for small-scale coastal fleets—will continue to be seriously affected.
Reforming the EU–ICES Agreement is the most cost-effective step toward restoring abundance. Science must be empowered to deliver advice that enables stocks to grow, expands fishing opportunities, and rebuilds resilience for coastal communities.
LIFE stands ready to contribute to this reform process and has recently engaged the European Commission through an exchange of letters shared below. By improving the quality and use of ICES science, strengthening decision-making, and integrating the wisdom of fishers, the EU can finally deliver healthy seas, thriving fish stocks, and sustainable coastal livelihoods.
News about fair fisheries, healthy seas and vibrant fishing communities
LIFE Elects its New Board of Directors
LIFE is pleased to announce the election of its new Board of Directors, bringing together a diverse group of representatives from across Europe’s main sea basins. This renewed leadership reflects LIFE’s commitment to ensuring that the voices and perspectives of small-scale fishers are heard from the Baltic and North Sea to the Mediterranean and Black Sea. The newly elected Board will guide LIFE’s strategic direction and strengthen its role in advocating for sustainable and fair fisheries.
New BOD composition:
Mediterranean and Black Sea Region:
Federico Gelmi, Associazione Pescatori di Pantelleria (Italy)
Kazimir Bogović, Udruga malih priobalnih ribara Jadrana (Croatia)
Macarena Molina, Pescartes (Spain)
Baltic and North Sea Region:
Bengt Larsson, SYEF (Sweden)
Kasia Stepanowska, Darłowska Group of Fish Producers and Shipowners (Poland)
Erik Meyer, Fischereischutzverband Schleswig-Holstein (Germany)
Atlantic Region:
Gwen Pennarun, Brittany Handliners Association (France)
South Atlantic: Sandra Amezaga, Mulleres Salgadas (Spain) / David Pavon, Cofradia el Hierro (Spain)
With a refreshed Board, LIFE looks forward to continuing its mission to empower small-scale fishers and champion sustainable, low-impact fisheries across Europe.
24/11 LIFE Calls for an EU Plan of Action for Small-Scale Fisheries at Implementation Dialogue with Commissioner Kadis
LIFE took part in the Implementation Dialogue on Small-Scale and Coastal Fisheries, the second in a series of such stakeholder dialogues, organised by the European Commission and hosted by Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans Costas Kadis. Representing LIFE, Marta Cavallé, Executive Secretary, delivered a strong message on behalf of Europe’s small-scale, low-impact fishers, calling for urgent and concrete action to secure their future.
In her intervention, Marta stressed that despite decades of political recognition of small-scale fisheries (SSF), this has yet to translate into meaningful improvements. She highlighted the outcomes of the recent Make Fishing FairForum, where 43 fishers from 16 countries warned that Europe has reached a tipping point of decline and cannot afford further delay in restoring fish stocks, safeguarding coastal livelihoods and ensuring fair access to resources.
LIFE urged the EU to adopt a Plan of Action for Small-Scale Fisheries in Europe by 2026, rooted in the FAO SSF Guidelines and based on a differentiated approach between small-scale and larger-scale fisheries. LIFE also submitted detailed written responses to Commission’s questions outlining barriers for generational renewal, barriers faced by SSF in accessing EU funding, the need for ring-fenced budgets, tailored capacity-building, recognition of SSF Producer Organisations, and concrete measures to ensure that administrative and regulatory systems are truly fit for purpose. Additional recommendations addressed data gaps, fisher-led technologies, co-management, climate adaptation, and the training needs required for a modern, resilient SSF workforce.
LIFE welcomed the Commissioner’s commitment to continuing this dialogue, but emphasised that, within the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), Europe already has the tools to act. By adopting a Plan of Action with a binding timeline and embedding it in the upcoming Ocean Act, the EU can ensure that the SSF can play its part in restoring its seas, promoting responsible fisheries, and ensuring that coastal communities thrive.
As Marta concluded: “It is time to recognise small-scale fishers not as the past, but as part of the future of sustainable European fisheries. Together, we can make fishing fair.”
17/11 LIFE Unites Small-Scale Fishers in Brussels for the Make Fishing Fair Forum
Group Photo @Matt Judge/Blue Ventures
LIFE, in tight cooperation with Blue Ventures, brought together 43 small-scale fishers from 16 European countries in Brussels as part of the Make Fishing Fair Forum.
Fishers in the room reiterated what LIFE has long warned: after years of policies favouring industrial fleets, Europe’s inshore fish stocks are collapsing and small-scale fishers are being pushed to the brink. The fishers at the Forum made a unified call for an EU Plan of Action for Small-Scale Fishing by 2026, aligned with the FAO SSF Guidelines, to rebuild stocks, secure access in coastal waters, ensure fair allocation, strengthen co-management and support new entrants. LIFE asserts that the Plan, part of a wider Make Fishing Fair Roadmap, should be included in the Ocean Act with a binding timeline for Institutions and Member States.
Commissioner Kadis, who addressed fishers and stakeholders in the afternoon session of the event. He asserted that “our small-scale fisheries are vital to the heart of our coastal communities”, acknowledged the urgency, noting the crises in the Baltic and Mediterranean and the importance of upcoming EU processes, including the 2026 Ocean Act. A number of LIFE members took the floor, including: Gwen Pennarun (LIFE), Muireann Kavanagh (IIMRO), Evelina Doseva (European Association European Association of fishermen at the black sea), Patricia Bros (Asociación de atuneros con linea de mano del mediterráneo), Søren Jacobsen (FSK-PO), Noora Huusari (Snowchange), Ken Kawahara (Association des Ligneurs de la pointe de Bretagne). Fishers on the panel and in the audience shared practical examples of best practices and low-impact solutions, while highlighting persistent political and legal barriers that hinder progress. A stakeholders’ panel presented diverse perspectives on advancing justice in EU fisheries policy, with contributions from Charles Braine (Pleine Mer and Poiscaille), Bellinda Bartolucci (ClientEarth), and MEP Luke Ming Flanagan (The Left), who highlighted the need for the EU to protect small-scale fisheries jobs and way of life. MEP Gabriel Mato (EPP) also intervened to underscore the importance of the small-scale fisheries sector.
For LIFE, the MFF Forum confirmed the strong unity among Europe’s small-scale fishers. Their shared experience and determination form a powerful foundation for pushing the EU toward genuinely fair, sustainable and inclusive fisheries.
14/11 Commission Publishes Vademecum on Article 17
The long awaited Vademecum contains guidelines that seek to help EU countries in supporting small-scale fishers and enhancing transparency and good governance in the allocation of fishing opportunities by EU countries. According to Commissioner Kadis “These guidelines invite EU countries to reflect on the allocation of fishing opportunities, bearing in mind that small-scale fishers are the most vulnerable to structural and unexpected challenges. Small-scale fishers are the backbone of our coastal communities. We must recognise their role and provide them with the necessary support”.
4-5/11 Energy Transition in Fisheries – From Visions to Actions
The Conference on Energy Transition in Fisheries – From Visions to Actions took place in Helsinki, bringing together Northern European stakeholders to discuss practical steps toward decarbonising the fisheries sector. LIFE was represented by Christian Tsangarides, Baltic and North Sea Coordinator, who contributed to the panel discussion “Can Decarbonization in Fisheries Be Achieved by 2050?”, where the discussion explored what can already be done to reduce emissions, the medium-term technologies that could be adopted without compromising the economic viability of fishing vessels, the long-term outlook for developing and deploying carbon-free fuels, and the need for tailored approaches that reflect the different realities of small and larger vessels. With a focus on the Northern European fisheries sector, pitches from entrepreneurs for solutions to the energy transition were presented with the winning entry being for solar powered electric boats.
5-6/11 Round Goby Project: Meeting & Study Visit in Lithuania
Photo of the study visit @Aksel Ydrén/LIFE
On 5–6 November, LIFE took part in a two-day meeting of the Round Goby project and study visit in Lithuania, organised jointly by project partners Submariner, KTU Food Institute, MCS and SLU. The visit provided valuable insight into Lithuania’s coastal fisheries, processing sector and the ongoing pilot activities within the Interreg Round Goby project.
The first day began with a study visit to Baltijos Konservai, a canning factory processing a variety of Baltic species. Participants had the opportunity to observe the production process and taste prototypes of canned round goby developed within the project.
This was followed by a field visit to meet local small-scale coastal fishers operating in the Klaipėda region. Lithuania’s coastal fishery is organised into 29 commercial fishing areas where operations are carried out by approximately 50–60 active fishers, each holding transferable fishing rights tied to specific gears. The main species caught with fyke nets and gillnets include smelt, Baltic herring, round goby, plaice and sprat, with total coastal landings amounting to around 300–600 tonnes annually.
Round goby fishing is concentrated in northern coastal zones close to the Latvian border. Despite being a profitable segment—with average margins around 38%—the fishery has declined by 72% (from 228 tonnes in 2016 to about 64 tonnes in 2023), likely due to reduced opportunities for cod and herring. Today, about 18 fishers target round goby, and five companies account for roughly 90% of landings. Much of the catch is exported to Latvia for processing and then further distributed to the Black Sea region.
18/11 S&D event: the Future of the Common Fisheries Policy
LIFE staff and members from Spain, Denmark and Norway took part in a high-level event organised by the Socialists and Democrats Group in the European Parliament, dedicated to the scientific, environmental, social and economic dimensions of fisheries policy. Christian Tsangarides, LIFE’s Baltic and North Sea Coordinator, contributed to Panel 1: “The science of fishing and fishing with science,” alongside experts from the Spanish Institute of Oceanography and the Azores Fisheries Observer Programme. When tackling the issue of stock status, Christian emphasised: “we want a full commitment to putting more fish back in the sea — this must be the foundation of our policy. The current scientific ‘recipe’ is not one for Europe, not one for small-scale fishers, and certainly not one for the future.” LIFE welcomed the opportunity to bring the perspectives of small-scale, low-impact fishers into these key political discussions.
10/12, online: LIFE’s Board of Directors meeting and General Assembly
11/12 in the European Parliament, Brussels: LIFE and Sea at Risk are organising the event “Rethink Fisheries – A vision for low impact and fair fisheries in Europe”.
After two years of collaborative work involving fishers, civil society, scientists, and actors across the seafood value chain, we are excited to present a shared Vision for a just transition toward low-impact and fair fisheries in Europe. Join us and register here.
