Report | June 12, 2015
Shifting subsidies to environmentally beneficial measures
Executive Summary
European marine ecosystems and fish stocks are currently in an alarming state and in consequence, fisheries in many European countries are unprofitable. The EU fishing industry is addicted to European taxpayer-funded subsidies, which has led to overfishing, fleet overcapitalization, reduced economic efficiency in the sector and failure to obtain the potential economic benefits from resources. Until now, lack of political will, ambiguous legislative texts and incorrect implementation of subsidies policies have only worsened the European fleet’s economic and social situation, as well as the state of the marine environment. The reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and of the accompanying European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) offers Member States a once-in-a-decade opportunity to address the crisis in which the European fisheries sector finds itself. Continuing with the untargeted, ineffective and wasteful spending of public funds is not an option. In this report, Oceana analyzes the lack of efficiency and added value of the measures currently available under the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) or other financial mechanisms that support the implementation of the CFP, and provides recommendations to ensure that the EMFF will have positive effects on Europe’s seas and for the fishermen whose livelihood depends on them.
To secure a long-term, economically viable fishing industry, priority should be given to ensuring stable, productive and healthy marine resources, by investing in public services and ecosystem restoration. Sustainable fishing can only be achieved by complying with effective fisheries management programs, preventing and stopping illegal fishing and eliminating subsidies that harm the environment, distort trade or undermine management efforts and lead to overfishing. The reforms of the CFP and the EMFF should eliminate subsidies which contribute to overfishing and instead direct funding towards supporting the transition to truly sustainable fisheries and healthy marine ecosystems. Implementing fisheries management measures and control and enforcement systems is absolutely vital for the sustainable future of fish stocks.
