Javier Garat defends civil society recommendations to the EU on the European Oceans Pact’s sustainability
Javier Garat, Secretary General of Cepesca and President of Europêche, presented the civil society’s recommendations for the European Oceans Pact to the European Parliament’s Fisheries Committee.
These recommendations, overwhelmingly approved in March by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), advocate for a comprehensive approach balancing environmental sustainability, economic competitiveness, and social equity.
Garat emphasised the interconnected economic, social, and environmental challenges facing Europe’s coastal communities, including impacts from Brexit, the war in Ukraine, and increasingly frequent extreme weather events. These factors have strained maritime industries with higher energy and raw material costs, pushing the European blue economy to its limits. Added to this are growing regulatory burdens and excessive bureaucracy, which hamper sector competitiveness.
From a social perspective, Garat warned about coastal population ageing, youth migration, and shortages of skilled labour threatening the socio-economic fabric of coastal regions.
Environmentally, Garat stressed the need to maintain healthy, resilient, and productive seas, safeguarding key natural resources such as fishing grounds. He called on the EU to regularly review and update policies, particularly the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The EESC insists on effective implementation of the 30×30 commitment through marine protected areas and other conservation measures in fishing zones.
Garat also highlighted the EESC’s call for strict protection zones as part of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, to be applied case by case with a balance between conservation and economic activity, ensuring food production is not threatened in line with the Paris Agreement.
Key proposals include urgent legislative simplification — cutting regulatory burdens by 25% overall and 35% for SMEs — boosting investment and innovation in sustainable technologies, and establishing an Industrial Alliance for Blue Economy value chains. Garat advocated for strengthening EU strategic autonomy in critical sectors like food and energy.
In fisheries and aquaculture, he called for a European Action Plan on “blue foods” before 2026, promoting a healthy, low-carbon diet and reducing dependence on unsustainable imports. He also urged improved controls on imports to ensure fair competition and global sector sustainability.
Garat welcomed the European Commission’s recent creation of the Energy Transition Partnership for fisheries and aquaculture as an opportunity to modernise fleets sustainably and efficiently.
Regarding EU funding, the EESC calls for increased funding for the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) in the next budget framework, plus a dedicated budget line for the blue economy in the programme succeeding Horizon Europe.
Garat stressed investing in capacity building and skills development for the blue economy, maintaining youth engagement in coastal communities, and harmonising training and certification across maritime, recreational, and fishing sectors to facilitate labour mobility and sector competitiveness.
On marine pollution, Garat noted the EESC recommends stronger EU regulations against land-based marine pollution sources, including industrial discharges, wastewater introducing organic, chemical, pharmaceutical contaminants, microplastics, and pellets into aquatic ecosystems.
Finally, Garat called for a thorough review of the Common Fisheries Policy to ensure it meets emerging challenges, balances biodiversity, food security, and economic sustainability, and adapts to a changing reality.
Source: Press Release
