140 organisations call on new EU leadership to prioritise ocean health with new fund and ban on destructive activities
Press Release Date: October 1, 2024
Location: Brussels
Contact:
Natividad Sánchez | email: nsanchez@oceana.org | tel.: +34 687 598 529
With Ocean Week taking the stage this week in Brussels (30 September- 4 October), 138 organisations call on the newly elected EU institutions to take a series of bold measures to stop the EU’s ocean and coastlines being pushed to the brink, including launching a Ocean Fund and proposing new legislation to ban destructive activities at sea.
Launched at the European Parliament on 1 October, the Blue Manifesto, led by BirdLife Europe and Central Asia, ClientEarth, Oceana, Seas At Risk, Surfrider Foundation Europe and WWF, advocates for an ambitious Ocean Deal that places ocean health at the heart of EU decision-making. It comes after the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, pledged to create a “European Ocean Pact” in July as she was re-appointed for a new term.
A spokesperson for the NGOs said: “The ocean is vital for food, health, wellbeing and livelihoods.It covers 70% of the world’s surface, acts as a vital carbon sink, mitigates climate change, regulates the weather patterns and produces oxygen. But Europe’s seas are at a tipping point, having been overexploited due to the relentless pursuit of “blue growth”. That’s why, this Ocean Week, we launch the Blue Manifesto – our step-by-step roadmap to a healthy ocean backed by 140 organisations.
“The announcement of a European Ocean Pact marks a step in the right direction from the EU. However, aligning the Pact with the policy roadmap outlined in the Blue Manifesto will be crucial to ensuring meaningful, long-term ocean protection, as will proper funding to support it. There is no time to waste – if we don’t want an ocean that’s polluted and degraded, the EU must implement the measures outlined in this manifesto without delay.”
According to the European Environment Agency, more than 90% of Europe’s marine area is under pressure from human activities – intensive fishing, shipping, oil and gas drilling, tourism and other coastal activities. Destructive practices such as bottom trawling continue in 90% of EU offshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), and more than 14 million tonnes of plastic still enter the ocean each year.
The Blue Manifesto calls on the EU to:
- Use its money more wisely, for example by:
- Removing all subsidies that are harmful to the marine environment and redirecting resources towards an EU Ocean fund
- Increasing resources for compliance and enforcement units to address marine-related legislation violations
- Improve ocean governance, for example by:
- Establishing an EU Ocean and Seas Agency that issues regular reports on the environmental and climate status of the ocean
- Introducing a framework for the traceability and labelling of all seafood products in the EU
- Ensuring proper implementation and enforcement, in line with the priorities outlined in the Commissioner Mission Letters
- Ensure effective marine protection, for example by:
- Proposing a ban on destructive activities, including bottom trawling, in all EU MPAs
- Proposing new legislation with binding 2030 targets for the effective protection and management of at least 30% of EU seas, including at least 10% under strict protection, by 2030
- Proposing a ban on deep-sea mining and marine geo-engineering in European seas
- Proposing new legislation on ocean resilience and coastal adaptation
- Banning offshore oil and gas exploration
- Proposing new legislation to restrict the import and trade of aquatic food products that cause harm to endangered species and bycatch of sensitive species
- Fight against pollution, for example by:
- Advocating for an ambitious Global Plastic Treaty that addresses the full lifecycle of plastics
- Enforcing a ban on Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)
- Introducing mandatory ship speed reduction measures and rerouting away from critical habitats
- Add the “blue” to the EU’s green just transition, for example by:
- Presenting an action plan for a just transition to a blue economy that respects ecological limits
- Proposing a revised Energy Taxation Directive to phase out fuel tax exemption in fisheries and redirect funds to finance a just and fair transition in the fisheries sector
The Blue Manifesto comes in the wake of the recent appointment of Costas Kadis as European Commissioner-designate for Fisheries and Oceans. The six NGOs leading on the Blue Manifesto shared concerns that the mission letter addressed to Kadis by President von der Leyen fails to provide concrete plans to achieve a healthy ocean.
The Blue Manifesto was first launched in 2020. Each year since, the six NGOs have tracked the EU’s progress, or lack thereof, in delivering a healthy and climate-resilient ocean by 2030. According to these annual progress assessments, EU Member States missed several opportunities to improve the state of Europe’s seas. They also failed to meet several legal requirements, including bringing an end to overfishing by 2020 under the Common Fisheries Policy and achieving Good Environmental Status under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive.
