In January, the European Commission launched a call for evidence to shape the European Oceans Pact, a political initiative that aims to promote sustainable ocean management and ensure the health, resilience, and productivity of the oceans—key to the prosperity of the EU’s coastal communities. The European Oceans Pact will set a vision for a holistic approach to ocean-related policies, which the Commission aims to present in time for the 3rd UN Ocean Conference in June 2025.
The Low Impact Fishers of Europe has contributed to the Call for Evidence, and -in parallel- has participated in many events that the European Commission and others are organising on the subject. Here we present a summary of our views on the Ocean Pact, with a complete version in the attached document provided below this page.
Small scale fisheries (SSF) is not just about being part of our cultural heritage as is often presented. The sector is, and provides much more than that: it is a strategic socio-economic sector, providing part of the solution to restoring and regenerating Europe’s troubled seas and disappearing coastal communities. SSF is a way of life, an identity deeply connected to the sea, with a rich store of experiential and traditional knowledge. Small-scale fishers are custodians of the sea, fishing as they do in a low impact manner and are actors of change intent on preserving our oceans, and reducing their relatively small carbon footprint even further. Fishers are food producers generating socio-economic benefits for coastal communities, playing an essential role in food and livelihood security, and food sovereignty. SSF are the backbone of our coastal communities, not only dynamizing local value chains but also building strong links with tourism and other service providers. SSF fix people in their territories, especially in remote areas and islands, providing an anchor point for communities with few alternatives.
However, despite all these benefits the sector has been marginalised and we have now reached a tipping point where we are at risk of disappearing, not just as a sector along with all its benefits, but at risk of losing all the potential our sector has to offer. We are convinced that SSF is part of the solution and an essential part of the future, with great potential to contribute to meeting the Green Deal Agenda and SDG goals.
The Oceans Pact must not be another lost opportunity. We therefore urge the Commission to place SSF at the heart of the Ocean Pact, and adopt a differentiated approach to SSF and Large Scale Fisheries (LSF),with ring fenced rights for SSF that would provide our sector with access to resources and markets, protected from the encroachment and erosion by LSF and by very powerful blue economy sectors. We call for the reservation of the 12-mile zone in Europe as a regenerative area to offset the impacts of boosting the Blue Economy and of off-shore fishing, and as an exclusive fishing zone for small-scale low impact fishing.
We need to restore our seas through improved implementation and enforcement of existing laws (including the MSFD, CFP and the Nature Restoration Law). This means strengthening infringement proceedings when laws are transgressed or not implemented, and address the incoherence between policy and practice in fisheries management. We need to address the shortcomings of the scientific advice and establish BMSY as the standard reference point for stock management and setting MSY, in order to grow our diminished stocks.
The Blue Economy narrative of triple bottom line win-wins is fallacious and dangerous. Not all things labelled Blue are compatible, coherent or sustainable. Oceans are not just a “space” from which each and every stakeholder can have their slice of cake and eat it. We tend to forget that oceans are a living ecosystem affected by the impacts of human activities, and the impacts are cumulative. Small-scale fishers are key actors in the blue economy, but are the most vulnerable in this competitive environment of powerful established and emerging sectors . Instead, we call for a “blue doughnut” approach to the Blue Economy, building on the social foundations and respecting ecological boundaries . This will bring coherence and identify compatibility between Blue economy sectors.
We need to strengthen and make Marine Spatial Planning inclusive, so that SSF are able to effectively participate in designing user spaces, with a clear plan for Integrated Coastal Management effectively addressing land and sea interactions.
For more information and a full position on LIFEs response to the Consultation on the Ocean Pact,
please review the document attached here.
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