Europe’s seas face deepening ecological crisis as EU prepares European Ocean Act
Press Release Date: July 21, 2026
Location: Brussels
Contact:
Natividad Sánchez | email: nsanchez@oceana.org | tel.: +34 687 598 529
New EEA-supported report prompts Oceana to call for a regulation that drives marine recovery across Member States
Brussels.- Large parts of Europe’s seas remain under severe stress and climate change could push some marine ecosystems beyond recovery, according to a major new scientific assessment developed in collaboration with and co-funded by the European Environment Agency (EEA). The report is timely released ahead of the European Commission’s proposal for an Ocean Act expected at the end of this year, which will be a unique opportunity to restore Europe’s seas.
Written by the European Topic Centre on Biodiversity and Ecosystems, the report assessed biodiversity across 85% of Europe’s sea area and found that only around 7% of the assessed area could be classified as a “non-problem area”. None of Europe’s regional seas was assessed as being in good overall condition. Only 32% of assessed commercial fish and shellfish stocks in EU waters were sustainably fished and in good biological condition by 2023.
The study ranks contaminants, fishing and climate change as the three greatest pressures on Europe’s seas and projects climate change to become the dominant driver of change in 2050. Consequently, ocean management needs to shift from managing individual sectors to an approach that addresses the combined effects of multiple environmental pressures.
“This report is an alarm bell for Europe. Contamination, excessive fishing pressure and climate change are pushing our seas towards ecological limits,” said Odran Corcoran, Policy Advisor at Oceana in Europe. “With the Ocean Act, we have a unique opportunity to create a coherent and effective framework that strengthens the resilience of Europe’s seas and safeguards the benefits they provide, including food security. The Ocean Act must be a regulation that turns fragmented commitments into binding, enforceable action”, Corcoran added.
The report identifies the European Ocean Act as an opportunity to strengthen and better integrate EU marine governance and make ecosystem resilience a defining principle. It also warns that policy simplification must strengthen rather than weaken environmental ambition.
Although around 14% of EU seas are designated as protected, only approximately 1% are strictly protected. The report points to fragmented governance, weak enforcement and delayed implementation as barriers to recovery and warns of a “shrinking but unique window” for action.
Considering the report´s findings, Oceana calls on the European Commission to:
- Shape the upcoming Ocean Act as a regulation and use it to establish ocean health an overarching objective across EU policies, underpinned by binding protection and restoration targets, measurable ecosystem recovery, and a requirement that maritime activities are planned and authorised consistently with marine conservation and restoration objectives.
- Create through the Ocean Act, Preferential Access Areas that prioritises local, small-scale and low-impact fishers in coastal waters, supporting resilient coastal communities.
- Ensure full implementation of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) to rebuild fish stocks above healthy levels, thereby improving ecosystem status and increasing the long-term volume and profitability of catches.
- Establish legally binding EU-wide ocean protection targets by 2050, in line with the 2050 Global Biodiversity Framework goals, including intermediate 2030 targets with the protection of at least 30% of EU seas, with a minimum of 10% under strict protection,
- Strengthen enforcement and coordination across EU marine policies, addressing gaps in implementation, closing loopholes, and ensuring Member States are held accountable for achieving agreed environmental objectives.
Notes to the editor
The findings come after Oceana convened a joint meeting last week between Commissioner Costas Kadis and eight environmental NGOs to discuss priorities for the Ocean Act. Oceana called for an ambitious and enforceable framework that delivers consistent implementation across the EU and supports marine recovery and resilient coastal communities.
Oceana’s preference with the NGOs is for the Ocean Act to take the form of a regulation, providing a coherent and directly applicable EU framework that produces consistent outcomes across Member States. Compared with a directive, a regulation would simplify compliance, support implementation and reduce the administrative burden associated with national transposition.
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Learn more:
Marine Messages III: State, pressures, and choices for the future of Europe’s seas, ETC-BE Report 2026/3. Key findings appear on pp. 6–7 and 65–68. Oceana is cited on p. 67, with the full reference on p. 75.
