Artisanal fishers and Oceana call for fairer fishing access in capital of Europe
Press Release Date: September 30, 2024
Location: Brussels
Contact:
Emily Fairless | email: efairless@oceana.org | tel.: +32 478 038 490
MEP Isabella Lövin, Alexandra Cousteau and fisher representative to open photo exhibition on small-scale fisheries this evening
Photo and video download here
In a photographic exhibition launched today, artisanal fishers from Denmark, Ireland and Spain are joining Oceana in calling on national governments, newly-elected Members of the European Parliament, and the European Commission for a fairer and more transparent allocation of fishing opportunities.
“We stand for transparent and fair fishing. A photographic exhibition of low-impact fishers across Europe” is running until 4 October on the Esplanade Solidarnosc, outside the European Parliament.
David Lange, Muireann and Neily Kavanagh, and Primitivo Pedrosa – the small-scale fishers featuring in the exhibition and members of the Low Impact Fishers of Europe (LIFE) – are urging their governments to prioritise access to fishing opportunities to vessels that cause the least damage to the marine environment, provide high-quality seafood, and create more jobs for their local communities.
Recent research by Oceana has revealed that EU countries tend to give greater access to quotas to vessels that have a history of fishing the most, which favours industrial, destructive fleets over small-scale, low-impact practices. This approach fails to take into account EU countries’ legal obligations under the Common Fisheries Policy, which require them to allocate quota to their fleets using transparent and objective criteria, including those of an environmental, social, and economic nature.
Muireann Kavanagh, small-scale fisher from Ireland, said: “My family has been fishing inshore off Ireland for generations, providing fresh, sustainably-sourced fish, but we’re struggling to survive now. The Irish government is simply not doing enough to protect inshore fishers. As a young woman who wants to make a living from fishing, I would ask them to fight more in our corner and allocate quota fairly and let our boats fish.”
David Lange, director of the low-impact fishers’ producer organization from Denmark (FSKPO), added: “Healthy fish stocks are the foundations of good business. To achieve this, we must fish in harmony with nature. However, if we want to secure a future for our coastal communities and encourage a new generation of artisanal fishers, the Danish government must allocate a fair share of quotas that reflects their commitment to sustainable practices.”
Oceana believes that the European Parliament must scrutinise countries’ allocation processes more closely and that the European Commission must ensure that they are abiding by their legal obligations.
Alexandra Cousteau, Oceana senior advisor, said: “The ocean harbours rich biodiversity and is our key ally to fight climate change, but it is under threat from destructive fishing. By failing to act, governments are jeopardising not just the ocean’s health, but the very livelihoods of coastal fishing communities. Countries must give greater access to quotas to sustainable, low-impact practices that preserve ocean ecosystems. And EU decision-makers must hold them accountable if they don’t do so.”
David Lange, Alexandra Cousteau and MEP Isabella Lövin (Greens/EFA) will attend this evening’s opening event. Details for attending here. As part of a broader campaign to incentivise sustainable, low-impact fishing practices across Europe, Oceana has exposed EU countries’ opaque methodology for determining which vessels gain more access to fishing opportunities. Currently, they do not publish this information, or fail to make it easily accessible.
