EBFA backs EU Ocean Pact vision but warns contradictory bottom fishing policy and outdated targets threaten seafood security and fleet survival
The European Bottom Fishing Alliance (EBFA) has cautiously welcomed the European Commission’s new EU Ocean Pact, describing it as a potential blueprint for integrating fisheries into a modern marine policy framework, but warned that contradictions in the text risk undermining the Pact’s ambitions.
Presented today by the European Commission, the EU Ocean Pact is billed as a comprehensive framework to align marine governance with science, innovation, food security, and environmental sustainability. It places fisheries at the centre of Europe’s maritime strategy, acknowledging the sector’s economic importance and strategic role in securing the EU’s seafood supply.
EBFA Chair Iván López said: “We support an ocean vision built on innovation, knowledge and balance. The Ocean Pact recognises many of the challenges we face—from the need for better science to the urgency of addressing Europe’s seafood dependency. What we need now is practical, region-specific implementation that reflects both ecological goals and the vital role of bottom fishing in ensuring food security and continued prosperity of coastal economies.”
The Pact explicitly acknowledges that Europe relies on seafood imports for 70% of its consumption, a vulnerability EBFA believes must be urgently corrected. The Alliance expressed strong support for the Pact’s stated commitment to promoting domestic seafood production, including the 25% of total EU landings supplied by bottom fisheries.
The document’s emphasis on case-by-case implementation of marine protection measures was also welcomed. EBFA stressed that ecological, economic and social differences between regions must guide marine planning and that all blue economy sectors—not only fisheries—should be held to equally strict standards. However, the Pact’s annex revives the previously rejected plan to phase out bottom fishing in Marine Protected Areas by 2030, a contradiction that EBFA says fosters “uncertainty and confusion”.
Although the Pact does not directly address fleet reduction, EBFA flagged the ongoing decline in fleet capacity and workforce as deeply troubling. The Alliance called for simplified policy frameworks, a reduction in bureaucratic burdens, and more targeted support to sustain EU seafood production and coastal employment.
The Alliance strongly welcomed the Pact’s Ocean Research & Innovation Strategy, which it said should form the scientific backbone of future fisheries policy. New partnerships and innovations—particularly those that reduce environmental impact and emissions—must be encouraged, but without compromising food production, in line with the Paris Agreement’s core principle.
Regarding the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), EBFA praised the Commission’s acknowledgement of existing data and methodology gaps. However, it warned that sticking to outdated or unworkable targets, despite recognising those flaws, “raises serious doubts about the coherence of the overall approach”.
López added: “Continued calls for broad, scientifically unsubstantiated restrictions—such as the phase-out of bottom trawling—continue damaging the image, reputation and viability of the fleet. It not only frustrates all the technological advances and investments made over the past years but also threatens EU (sea)food production and sovereignty. This clearly goes against the driving principle of the Ocean Pact: competitiveness.”
EBFA concluded that it remains committed to collaborating with EU institutions but insisted that future implementation must be “practical, region-specific, and grounded in science—not ideology.”
Source: Press Release