Fishing Subsidies: Achievements
Thanks to Oceana, the European Court of Justice forced Italy to reimburse €7M it received in subsidies for the conversion or decommissioning of its fleet. Oceana proved that the fleet was never converted or decommissioned and that the funds were used to increase the fishing efforts.
Oceana reported various vessels for illegal fishing, one of the activities that most seriously damages sustainable fishing.
In January 2014, the European Parliament and the Fisheries Council reached a political agreement on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, the financial mechanism that will allow the implementation of the reformed Common Fisheries Policy over the next seven years. Previous fisheries subsidies schemes have given priority to short-term economic interests at the expense of sustainability, using taxpayer’s money to increase fleet capacity and fund overfishing.
