On 12 and 13 October 2026, during the Make Fishing Fair Youth Summit, young fishers, shellfish gatherers, and community advocates from across Europe have officially launched the LIFE Youth Network, demanding fairer policies, genuine support for new entrants, and a formal voice in shaping the future of European seas.
At LIFE, the Board of Directors and staff are delighted to support our young youth representatives in this new adventure, empowering them to shape a fairer, more sustainable future for European seas and coastal communities.
As well as recognition, small-scale coastal fleets need a differentiated approach, with space and secure access to resources and markets – not just sympathy.
The European Parliament Resolution on the Evaluation of the Common Fisheries Policy adopted in Strasbourg last week gives political support to small-scale coastal fleets (SSCF) but fails to treat SSCF as a distinct part of the fleet that requires a differentiated approach, and which should receive preferential access to inshore fishing zones and be rewarded for delivering environmental and social benefits.
Thursday 17 September 2026, the European Parliament Plenary session in Strasbourg adopted a motion for a Resolution on the Evaluation of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and follow-up. The motion was proposed by 4 political groups – the EPP, the ECR, the S&D, and the Reform Group. Counter proposals from other political groups (Left, Greens and PIE) were rejected.
The Resolution calls on the Commission to submit a targeted, ambitious revision and simplification package before the end of 2026 to address severe socio-economic challenges, regulatory burdens, and geopolitical pressures. It calls for a sweeping revision of the CFP to allow for modernisation and fleet renewal; for regulatory simplification (viz à viz the control regulation); for greater flexibility in mixed fisheries to deal with unwanted by-catch, choke species, and also greater flexibility in the implementation of the landing obligation; reassessment of seabed impact by different gears, to incentivise selectivity and decarbonisation, to duly take into account socio-economic considerations alongside the best available scientific advice when setting TACs.
Whilst the resolution cites the Parliament’s previous work on Article 17 of the CFP and recent advances, its operative paragraphs say almost nothing about implementing it whilst disregarding the findings of the Commission’s evaluation of the CFP. LIFE broadly agrees with the Evaluation findings that the current shortcomings of the policy stem less from the CFP framework itself than from uneven implementation and enforcement by Member States, something that the current Resolution fails to address.
LIFE would have liked to have seen an explicit call to implement Article 17 in the spirit of the law (as laid out in Recital 33 of the CFP (Regulation 1380/2013)) by allocating quotas using transparent environmental, social and economic criteria to:
reward selective, low-impact and locally rooted fishing through additional quotas;
reserve part of fishing opportunities for SSCF;
facilitate access for young and new entrant fishers through ring fenced quotas and sectoral support;
correct historic allocations that have consolidated quota in the hands of incumbent and larger operators.
SSCF viability depends less on general recognition than on secure access to fish. Simplifying rules or modernising vessels alone will not help fishers who have insufficient quota or cannot enter quota-managed fisheries. Of note too, is that increasingly the viability of SSCF, even for those with quota, is plagued by a lack of fish in coastal waters due to stock depletion and the impacts of climate change and pollution.
The Resolution calls for socio-economic considerations to be placed alongside scientific advice, but this should not be used to set catches above precautionary scientific limits or for not addressing the need to stop overfishing. For SSCF healthy stocks are the indispensable social policy for fishing communities, combined with targeted short-term support when recovery measures are necessary.
Vulnerable ecosystems must be protected. Differentiating between bottom gears is justified, as is restricting those with greatest impact. However, weakening habitat protection generally would not serve coastal SSF that depend on functioning ecosystems.
Calls for simplification should focus on reducing unnecessary administrative burdens and achieving effective implementation. It should not mean weaker traceability, less reliable catch data, reduced control of larger operators, or lower environmental and social standards. Poor control frequently benefits operators with greater catching capacity and disadvantages compliant small-scale fishers.Therefore, the principle should be differentiated with proportionate implementation, combined with equally effective control, rather than general deregulation.
Let’s remind ourselves: SSCF provides over 50% of the seagoing jobs and land nearly 20% of the catch by value, generating vital social and economic benefits in coastal areas, anchoring livelihoods and commerce. They face existential threats which this Resolution fails to address.
ROME, ITALY – Six fishers and LIFE’s executive secretary from the Low-Impact Fisheries of Europe (LIFE) joined small-scale fishers and global partners at FAO Headquarters from 4 to 6 September 2026 for the 3rd Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF) Summit. Held prior to the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI), the biennial Summit provides a rights-based platform to accelerate the implementation of the 2014 FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF Guidelines).
Small-scale fisheries account for 90% of employment in capture fisheries value chains, contribute at least 40% of global catches, and sustain 492 million livelihoods worldwide. Despite this vital role, small-scale fishers face persistent marginalization in marine governance.
Throughout the three-day gathering—which opened with an exclusive fisher actors forum before bringing together researchers, civil society, and government ministers—LIFE’s delegation played a central role in articulating European priorities:
Global Political Priorities: LIFE’s president Gwen Pennarun represented LIFE in Session 1.2 alongside transnational fisheries movements, demanding preferential access for SSF in the 12mile zone, fair access to quota allocations, and the need for legal plan of action for small-scale, low-impact fishers that could also foster generational renewal.
Regional Facilitation:Sandra Amezaga co-presented the summary of Day 1 opening proceedings and officially facilitated, together with Marta Cavallé, the Europe and Central Asia regional breakout session, guiding discussions on implementation strategies across European basin regions. As main outcomes there was the call for making SSF Guidelines a mandatory tool for developing but also developed countries.
Regional Plan Evaluation:MacarenaMolina delivered a critical assessment of the Regional Plan of Action for Small-Scale Fisheries (RPOA-SSF) in the Mediterranean and Black Sea, grounded in operational realities from the Cabo de Gata Marine Reserve in Almería, Spain. She highlighted pressing obstacles in its implementation—including spatial competition from offshore wind energy and mega-tourism, lack of direct sales infrastructure, sidelined co-management, and a regression in women’s representation in decision-making. Macarena called on signing Member States to honor their commitments in all the Region by securing spatial rights, enabling direct sales, restoring degraded marine habitats, greater role for women in fisheries and establishing binding co-management.
“Small-scale low-impact fishers cannot remain sidelined in policy decisions that threaten their coastal territories,” LIFE delegates emphasized. “We need concrete political commitment to turn global guidelines into concrete action and enforceable rights on the water.”
Reactivating the SSF Global Strategic Framework (SSF-GSF)
A central focus of the Summit was presenting outcomes from the reactivation process of the Global Strategic Framework in support of the SSF Guidelines (SSF-GSF). Originally established following recognition by COFI as a global partnership mechanism, the idea to renew the SSF-GSF mechanism is intended to offer small-scale fisheries actors, governments, and supporting stakeholders a collaborative platform to guide and encourage the SSF Guidelines implementation. Transnational organizations presented their vision and objectives for the reactivated framework, which will be presented and asked for at the COFI meetings.
Unifying the Global SSF Movement and the Call to Action
The Summit essentially provided a vital opportunity to strengthen alignment across the global small-scale fisheries movement. By bringing together leading transnational alliances—including the Low Impact Fishers of Europe (LIFE), the African Confederation of Professional Organizations of Artisanal Fisheries (CAOPA), the World Forum of Fisher Peoples (WFFP), and the World Forum of Fish Harvesters and Fish Workers (WFF), Union of Latin American Small-scale Fishers (ULAPA), International Treaty Council (IITC), African Women Fish Processors and Traders Network (AWFISHNET), Community-Based Fisheries Dialogue’s Advisory Group (CBFD AG) —delegates coordinated joint policy statements for COFI. This collective momentum reinforces the need for global advocacy and provides enhanced visibility to relevant initiatives such as the Call to Action, enabling signatories and small-scale fisher organizations worldwide to build a united front for tenure rights, ocean justice, and sustainable coastal livelihoods. This was nicely visualised with the delivery by CAOPA to LIFE of an award recognising the joint work on this important call.
This year’s European Maritime Day 2026 in Cyprus provided an important platform for the #MakeFishingFair delegation to bring the perspectives, concerns and lived realities of Europe’s small-scale fishers into the heart of the debate on the future of our seas.
Across two full days of exchanges with policy-makers, stakeholders and local fishing communities, the delegation contributed to a series of timely and urgent discussions on the mounting pressures facing the sector, while also reaffirming the indispensable role that small-scale fisheries must play in shaping Europe’s maritime future.
The conversations reflected a sector navigating profound uncertainty. From declining fish stocks and intensifying competition for maritime space, to the accelerating impacts of climate change, exclusion from decision-making processes and the growing challenge of attracting younger generations into the profession, small-scale fishers across Europe are confronting a rapidly changing reality.
Yet amid these challenges, one message emerged with clarity and conviction: small-scale fishers possess a depth of knowledge, experience and practical wisdom that is too often overlooked. When their voices are genuinely heard and their contribution properly recognised, they become essential partners in restoring balance between environmental sustainability, social wellbeing and economic resilience within coastal communities.
The Low Impact Fishers of Europe (LIFE) and Blue Ventures, co-leading the #MakeFishingFair Campaign, will continue working in the months ahead to address the many policy uncertainties that remain on the horizon and to ensure that small-scale fishers continue to play a central role in shaping the future of Europe’s seas.
Yesterday in Strasbourg, in Plenary Session, the European Parliament adopted a motion for a Resolution on “the impact of the implementation of the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive 2014/89/EU on fisheries in selected fishing areas and sea basins”, reflecting many of the priorities currently being raised by small-scale fishers at European Maritime Day in Cyprus.
The Low Impact Fishers of Europe (LIFE) welcomes the adoption of the European Parliament’s Motion for a Resolution on Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP). The Resolution paves the way for developing the Ocean Act, a new piece of framework legislation which aims to strengthen ocean governance in the EU, serving as a single reference point for all economic, climate, environmental, and social targets to protect and sustainably use ocean resources. It is set for adoption in 2026.
The Resolution is also timely in the sense that coastal waters are increasingly dominated by big, financially powerful and politically influential players, encouraged by the rise of the Blue Economy and the green transition towards off-shore renewable energy. A red carpet has been rolled out for them, and fisheries are essentially being squeezed out in a highly unfair, unstructured and destructive process.
In its current form, “the MSP directive tends to favour the expansion of capital-intensive and spatially exclusive economic activities, which could marginalise traditional, mobile and collective uses of the sea, in particular fishing”, legislators note. “Fisheries and aquaculture are strategic sectors for the security and sovereignty of the EU, particularly in terms of food security and maritime sovereignty, and contribute to the competitiveness and resilience of coastal communities”, and “the strategic value of these sectors should therefore be duly recognised in MSP”, they point out, noting that: “ensuring sufficient, balanced and predictable access to maritime space is therefore essential for developing competitive EU fisheries, as recognised by the European Ocean Pact”.
The Resolution laments that the “current MSP legal framework has not satisfactorily delivered the expected benefits for fisheries”. For this to happen, “MSP must be inclusive, ensuring the early, continuous and effective involvement of all relevant stakeholders, including fishers and shellfish gatherers and their representative organisations, and communities in the outermost regions, through a bottom-up approach and throughout the decision-making process, ensuring that this involvement is appropriate, meaningful and not limited to a merely consultative role”.
The Resolution highlights “the essential role of small-scale fishing”, and calls for “MSP to take this segment fully into account, particularly in terms of access to space, proximity to fishing grounds and the safety of activities”. It calls for “ a differentiated approach to the management of small-scale fisheries that includes preferential access within the 12 nautical mile zone for small-scale fisheries, low-impact activities and conservation projects”.
These recommendations are closely aligned with the LIFE and Blue Ventures “Make Fishing Fair Roadmap”, which calls for an “Action Plan for Small-Scale Fisheries in Europe by 2026” and is currently being presented by a delegation of fishers at European Maritime Day in Cyprus. They also echo the Joint Call to Action for the Future of Small-Scale Fisheries, issued by the Union of Small-Scale Fishers of Cyprus during the same forum, reflecting growing momentum across Europe for fairer, more inclusive, and more resilient small-scale fisheries policies.
MEPs are calling for the implementation of a bottom-up, balanced, multi-use approach to MSP that would aim to avoid adverse effects on marine resources and biodiversity, and therefore on fisheries and aquaculture, and would ensure that these activities are not excluded from the maritime space. Their resolution highlights that “co-location of activities, such as fixed or floating offshore wind infrastructure can also be used to develop aquaculture, shellfish and algae farming and for the protection of habitats for marine fauna and flora or regenerative activities and for fisheries activities such as passive and low-impact fisheries”.
Four of its recommendations are particularly important for small-scale coastal fisheries, namely the call for:
an increase in reserved areas dedicated to small-scale low impact inshore fishing within the 12 nautical mile zone and underpinned by co-management regimes
the Commission and the Member States to recognise fisheries as a strategic and priority user of maritime space, essential to EU food sovereignty and food security, coastal employment and strategic autonomy, and to reflect this status explicitly in maritime spatial plans and in the forthcoming revision of the MSP Directive;
a differentiated approach to the management of small-scale fisheries that includes preferential access within the 12 nautical mile zone for small-scale fisheries, low-impact activities and conservation projects; and
co-management to be the model for governance and decision-making in MSP; with the benefits of allowing for the direct involvement of stakeholders, better management of fishery resources, the sharing of best practice and an approach tailored to local realities, particularly when it builds on existing and proven structures and on the practical knowledge of local fishing communities and other structures such as RFMOs. It stresses that co-management can also help promote generational renewal in the sector and strengthen the economic resilience of small-scale and coastal fleets.
Whilst LIFE regrets that the Resolution falls short of calling for an Action Plan for Small-scale Fisheries in Europe, it does pave the way for such an Action Plan to be included in the Ocean Act going forward. Such a plan should be built on the principles of the FAO Voluntary Guidelines on Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF Guidelines) and establish a differentiated policy and management approach for SSF and larger-scale fisheries.
This plan should include concrete measures with a binding timeline for the European Institutions and Member States to follow, with the following main objectives, to:
Restore fish stocks using better science and traditional knowledge to rebuild ecosystem health
Protect SSF from competing impactful blue economy sectors by securing preferential access and tenure within the territorial waters, extending out to the 6 mile and 12-nautical mile zone where appropriate
Apply adaptive co-management systems in all coastal areas
Ensure fair allocation of fishing opportunities based on social, economic and environmental criteria
Foster generational renewal by removing barriers and providing incentives, offering training, mentorship and decent livelihoods for young fishers.
Build resilient communities able to adapt to climate change
Guarantee fair access to sectoral support and markets
Promote gender equity by recognising womenʼs contributions and ensuring equal participation and opportunities.
As Europe moves towards a new Ocean Act, the message from both policymakers and fishing communities is becoming increasingly clear: maritime governance can no longer be shaped solely around industrial expansion and competing blue economy interests. Small-scale fisheries must be recognised as strategic actors in ensuring sustaining coastal livelihoods, preserving cultural heritage, and stewarding marine ecosystems.
The European Parliament’s Resolution marks an important political step towards a more balanced, democratic and socially just approach to Maritime Spatial Planning. The challenge now will be to translate these principles into binding measures, effective co-management systems, and concrete protections for small-scale fishers on the water. For LIFE and its partners, the forthcoming Ocean Act represents a crucial opportunity to place fairness and inclusion at the heart of Europe’s ocean future.
It tells us little that we did not already know: all three sustainability pillars – social, economic and environmental – that support healthy, prosperous and sustainable fishing are showing cracks and in need of some repair. From a small-scale coastal fisheries perspective, these cracks are potentially life-threatening.
From an environmental perspective, there are less fish of commercial interest and of a healthy size in the sea. As a result less fish is being landed into European ports, with an increasing dependence on fish imports to meet consumption demands. Overall, declared landings are down by around 30% compared to 2014, whilst European consumers rely on imports for over 80% of what they eat. This highlights the extremely weak contribution EU fisheries make to food security in the Union.
Whilst at LIFE we agree with the concept of science-led fisheries management, we don’t agree with the way MSY is currently applied in Europe. Rather than sustaining and rebuilding fisheries, the CFP is sustaining overfishing. LIFE has long called for a revision of the scientific basis for fisheries management by using more appropriate biological reference points for MSY that both rebuild stocks and promote the growth of the spawning stock – to ensure a healthier balance of older and larger individuals This will involve changing the way that scientific advice is provided, moving away from single species models towards a recovery-focused, ecosystem-based advice for fisheries that prioritises biomass over yields.
From a socio-economic perspective, small-scale coastal fisheries (SSCF) are struggling to survive. In the 4 years from 2018 to 2022, the value of SSCF catches from the Baltic, the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, and the North Sea declined by between 30% and 36% according to data in the 2025 STECF AER report. Meanwhile, an aging fishing fleet is mirrored by an aging fishing population, with Gen Z and Millennials finding career prospects in fishing unattractive. Meanwhile, those left in the profession feel stuck in a cul de sac.
“I worry for the future of our profession – which is the most sustainable and low impact form of fishing. Working with youngsters as I do, to give them a helping hand, I’ve seen first-hand the multiple barriers and declining prospects they face. The fishing of tomorrow depends on today’s youth. Yet the targeted fisheries we depend upon are being progressively closed down, whilst untargeted industrial fishing is allowed to fish these same resources more or less with impunity. This has to change”, says Gwen Pennarun, LIFE’s President, a professional fisher with over 30 years’ experience at sea.
Marta Cavallé, LIFE’s Executive Secretary points out: “A major failing of the CFP is that it is simply not designed for SSCF, a fleet that accounts for 50% of at sea employment and 70% of the fleet by number. Article 17 could be a game changer, if applied in the spirit of the law. Whilst we accept that the allocation of fishing opportunities is a national prerogative, we would like to see the Commission play a more proactive role in developing appropriate criteria as outlined in the Vademecum, and supporting and encouraging member states to apply them.”
To counter the growing challenges facing the fisheries sector resulting from the poor implementation of the CFP, members of LIFE, together with a broader network of small-scale fishers, have developed their own set of priorities and solutions for small-scale fisheries in the Make Fishing Fair Roadmap. This initiative reflects the collective knowledge and practical experience of coastal communities, putting forward concrete measures to ensure environmental sustainability, social equity, and economic viability.
Central to the proposal is a call on European institutions to establish a comprehensive Plan of Action for Small-Scale Fisheries in Europe by 2026, aimed at safeguarding the future of the sector and recognising its vital role in resilient coastal livelihoods. The plan serves as a common reference point for coordinated engagement with policymakers, ensuring that the voices and priorities of small-scale fishers are consistently represented in regional, national, and European discussions and, most importantly, it will also inform the group’s positions in shaping reflections on the next steps for the Common Fisheries Policy, contributing practical, experience-based insights to future developments.
We are delighted to welcome Claudia Giulia Cantele Silva as our new Administrative and Financial Officer.
From our Brussels office, she will help strengthen our internal processes and contribute to the efficient management and coordination of activities across the organisation.
Could you briefly introduce yourself and tell us about your professional background before joining LIFE?
I am a finance professional with more than 15 years of experience in different areas of finance, from accounting and tax to budgeting and forecasting. I have an international background, having worked in Brazil – where I am originally from – in France, in Hungary and now in Belgium. Despite working in diverse industries, my latest experience was in banking, where I led a team of financial advisors for Wholesale Banking clients. I live in Antwerp, about two hours from our Brussels office. I am married, with no kids (but many plants), and reading is one of my favourite things in the world. My older brother is a fisher in Alaska, and some of my sweetest childhood memories are of him visiting and sharing photos of life at sea.
How does your previous experience in the corporate sector help you in your work at LIFE?
I believe the corporate sector allowed me to be exposed to several different strategies and tools for effective resource management and efficiency gains, which I intend to put into practice at LIFE, to facilitate internal processes but also to offer support to our fishers’ network where they require financial expertise and advice. Another aim is to support LIFE reach its strategy to secure long-term funding, which is something I have achieved successfully in past experiences.
Since joining LIFE, what has been the most interesting or surprising aspect of working with the small-scale fisheries sector?
Certainly, the aspect that surprised me the most was to learn that small-scale fishers are actually the largest part of the fleet and workforce in fishery, which makes it striking to see how underrepresented they still are in decision-making at the EU. What is also surprising is to understand how integrated and connected the small-scale fisheries sector is with the whole food system and how significant the impact they can have when properly involved in policy making.
What message would you like to share with the LIFE network of fishers and partners across Europe?
One message I would like to share is that I deeply value collaboration, openness, and transparency. So please feel free to reach out at any time with suggestions, ideas, concerns, or feedback. I am always ready to listen with intention and to work toward making our partnership meaningful and valuable for everyone involved. As Administrative and Financial Officer, my mission, together with the whole LIFE staff, is to ensure that all members of our network and partners across Europe feel valued and confident that their resources are being used where they will have the greatest impact, securing a more sustainable future for all.
The Energy Transition Partnership (ETP) of the European Commission has published its joint and sector-specific recommendations, developed to inform the forthcoming Energy Transition Roadmap for fisheries and aquaculture towards climate neutrality by 2050.
The recommendations were prepared through the work of the ETP Support Groups, which brought together fishers, stakeholder organisations, researchers and other experts to identify key priorities and challenges for the sector.
The Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF) Working Group played an important role in this process. Its recommendations reflect the collective input of small-scale fishers and LIFE members from across Europe, who contributed their experience, knowledge and perspectives to the discussions. Their engagement helped ensure that the realities of small-scale, low-impact fisheries were clearly articulated, including the importance of healthy fish stocks, fair access to resources, differentiated approaches to the energy transition and the need for tailored public support.
LIFE would like to thank all small-scale fishers and member organisations who dedicated time and effort to this process, as well as Marta Cavallé, LIFE Executive Secretary, who coordinated the work of the Small-Scale Fisheries Working Group.
On January 10th, two years after its publication, the European Union Fisheries Control Regulation came into force for vessels over 12 metres. Small-scale fishing vessels under 12 metres still have two years before the regulation is implemented, but most of them are joined the protests and general strike called yesterday by the Spanish inshore fishing sector, due to their concern about some of the measures that will come into force in 2028.
The small-scale fishing sector does not deny the need for effective control, but its current discontent is due to the excessive bureaucracy and high administrative burden that the regulation entails and which, at the same time, may pose a high risk to maritime safety. When the LIFE Control Regulation was published in 2024, LIFE carried out a brief analysis of it.
Currently, fishers claim that those who drafted and approved the control regulation are unaware of the reality of the small-scale fishing sector and what its requirements will actually mean in their day-to-day work. Specifically, they are opposed to:
– Notification of 4 hours’ notice before entering port: For vessels that fish close to the coast and make trips that normally last less than 12 or even 8 hours, this timing is difficult to guess, would probably coincide during fishing operations and does not add any useful information to the control since -at least in Spain- every fisheries modality has its own schedule to leave and return to port.
– Fish will have to be weighed on board with a margin of error of less than 10%: It is impossible to untangle, sort and weigh the product on board before entering port, in small vessels, sometimes without any crew, while manoeuvring and with the vessel in motion, and this seriously affects maritime safety. While it is important to have an accurate catch declaration, this can wait until arrival on land, where all the necessary equipment and conditions are in place to do so with all the necessary guarantees and accuracy.
LIFE Spanish Members, including Empordà Mar, made their voice heard on the ground and on social media
On the other hand, the lack of information and uncertainty that Member States are providing on how the digitisation system will work, from the electronic logbook on board to the new obligation to carry a VMS system on small-scale vessels, is a cause for concern for the sector, which demands that they be taken into account in its design. If implemented correctly, digitisation could revolutionise data collection and use, empowering fishers on the one hand and improving their visibility and increasing the reliability of scientific advice on the other. If not implemented correctly, with tracking and data collection systems that have not been sufficiently tested, are costly and have not been designed with the involvement of fishers from the start, it could wreak havoc and further increase the bureaucratic burden, as we have seen with the disastrous implementation of the iVMS tracking system in the United Kingdom. The secret to successful digitisation is multifunctionality: vessel monitoring and electronic catch reporting systems must be useful to both authorities and fishers, otherwise they simply will not work.
Pescadores españoles de pequeña escala se suma a las protestas contra determinadas disposiciones del Reglamento de Control de la Pesca
Foto credit @Es corall
El pasado 10 de enero, 2 años después de su publicación, entró en vigor el Reglamento de Control de la actividad pesquera de la Union europea para los buques de más de 12 metros. A la pesca de pequeña escala, de menos de 12 metros, aún le quedan 2 años para su implementación, pero la mayoría de ellos se sumaron ayer a las protestas y a la parada general del sector de pesca de bajura español, preocupados por algunas de las medidas que les vendrán en 2028.
El sector artesanal no niega la necesidad de un control efectivo, pero su malestar actual se debe a la excesiva burocratización y elevada carga administrativa que el reglamento supone y que -a la vez- puede suponer un alto riesgo a la seguridad marítima. Cuando se publicó el Reglamento Control en 2024, LIFE ya hizo un breve análisis del mismo.
Actualmente, los pescadores aseguran que quien ha redactado y aprobado el reglamento de control no conoce la realidad del sector pesquero de pequeña escala y lo que sus requerimientos supondrán realmente en su día a día. Concretamente, se manifiestan en contra de:
– Notificación con 4 horas de antelación antes de entrar en puerto: Para los buques que faenan cerca de la costa y realizan salidas que normalmente duran menos de 12 o incluso 8 horas, este plazo es difícil de calcular, probablemente coincidiría con las operaciones de pesca y no aporta ninguna información útil al control, ya que, al menos en España, cada modalidad pesquera tiene su propio horario de salida y regreso al puerto.
– El pescado deba ser pesado a bordo y con un margen de error de menos del 10%. Conseguir desenmallar, clasificar y pesar el producto a bordo antes de entrar a puerto, en embarcaciones pequeñas, a veces sin ningún tripulante, mientras se maniobra y el barco está en movimiento es algo imposible y que afecta gravemente a la seguridad marítima. Si bien es importante tener la declaración ajustada de capturas, ello puede esperar a su llegada en tierra donde hay todo el material y condiciones para poderlo hacer, con todas las garantías y exactitud necesarias.
Los miembros españoles de LIFE, incluido Empordà Mar, hicieron oír su voz tanto sobre el terreno como en las redes sociales.
Por otro lado, la escasa información e incertidumbre que los estados miembros están dando a como avanzará el sistema de digitalización, del diario electrónico a bordo y la nueva obligación de llevar un sistema de VMS de las embarcaciones de pequeña escala preocupan al sector, que demanda que se les tenga en cuenta en su diseño. La digitalización, si se implementa correctamente, podría revolucionar la recopilación y el uso de datos, empoderando a los pescadores, por un lado, mejorando su visibilidad y aumentando la fiabilidad del asesoramiento científico, por otro. Si no se implementa correctamente, con sistemas de seguimiento y recopilación de datos sin suficiente testeo, elevados costes y sin la participación de los pescadores en su diseño desde el inicio, podría causar estragos y aumentar aún más la carga burocrática, como hemos visto con la desastrosa implantación del sistema de seguimiento iVMS en el Reino Unido. El secreto del éxito de la digitalización es la multifuncionalidad: los sistemas de seguimiento de buques y de notificación electrónica de capturas deben ser útiles tanto para las autoridades como para los pescadores, de lo contrario, simplemente no funcionarán.
Additional information on the general strike in the press/Información adicional sobre la huelga general en la prensa
The Summit essentially provided a vital opportunity to strengthen alignment across the global small-scale fisheries movement. By bringing together leading transnational alliances—including the Low Impact Fishers of Europe (LIFE), the African Confederation of Professional Organizations of Artisanal Fisheries (CAOPA), the World Forum of Fisher Peoples (WFFP), and the World Forum of Fish Harvesters and Fish Workers (WFF), Union of Latin American Small-scale Fishers (ULAPA), International Treaty Council (IITC), African Women Fish Processors and Traders Network (AWFISHNET), Community-Based Fisheries Dialogue’s Advisory Group (CBFD AG) —delegates coordinated joint policy statements for COFI. This collective momentum reinforces the need for global advocacy and provides enhanced visibility to relevant initiatives such as the 
Across two full days of exchanges with policy-makers, stakeholders and local fishing communities, the delegation contributed to a series of timely and urgent discussions on the mounting pressures facing the sector, while also reaffirming the indispensable role that small-scale fisheries must play in shaping Europe’s maritime future.
These recommendations are closely aligned with the LIFE and Blue Ventures “
We are delighted to welcome Claudia Giulia Cantele Silva as our new Administrative and Financial Officer. 
