Report | September 24, 2019

Better implementation of the CFP is needed to ensure sustainable fisheries by 2020

Six years on from the most recent reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), our organisations present European and national decision makers with a summary of the shortfalls in implementation of CFP legal requirements. Addressing these implementation gaps in the coming months is crucial to meet the sustainability fishing deadline of 2020.

The CFP aims to make fisheries environmentally sustainable in the long term, consistent with the objective of achieving social, economic and employment benefits. To date, insufficient progress has been made across all major CFP themes, with national marine strategies failing to include clear, concrete objectives in line with the CFP, and decisions by the European institutions falling short of what the CFP requires. The European Union and its Member States miss the mark on provisions for sustainable and viable fishing, healthy marine ecosystems and biodiversity conservation.