About: overfishing

Portuguese minister: We have one ocean, we need to look after it globally

International cooperation to tackle global challenges facing marine resources is strongly needed as problems such as ocean warming cannot be solved by a bunch of countries only, Portugal's minister of the Sea Ricardo Serrão Santos said in an exclusive interview.

France’s management of fish stock positive except in Mediterranean

Though the French institute for sea exploitation known as Ifremer appeared optimistic when presenting its 2020 report on the state of fish populations caught in France, they, however, called for continued efforts, particularly in the Mediterranean where the situation is more worrying. EURACTIV France reports.

Science must finally become the foundation of our marine policies

2021 marks the start of the UN Decade on Ocean Science – a chance to move away from past mistakes where EU decisions were not always made based on the best-available science or even went against scientific advice, writes Antonia Leroy.

Something fishy this way comes

We can have more fish in the sea and secure a profitable future for our fishermen and women if we respect the sustainable limits of catches and let the stocks recover, writes Chris Davies.

EU bans cod fishing in Baltic Sea

The EU announced Tuesday (23 July) an immediate ban on fishing cod, the staple of Britain's fish and chips, in most of the Baltic Sea in response to an impending stock collapse.

Two French MPs want their Parliament to discuss Europe’s overfishing problem

Two French MPs presented a report to the French parliamentary committee on European affairs on 17 July. The report recommended 27 measures to prevent the collapse of Europe's fish resources. EURACTIV's partner le Journal de l'environnement reports.

Overfishing lurks in flagship EU subsidy scheme

A meeting of EU agriculture ministers today (18 June) will be entirely dedicated to fisheries. Ministers are expected to reach a tentative deal on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) post-2020, the main EU fund that supports fishing communities.

Human society under urgent threat from loss of Earth’s natural life

A landmark UN report published yesterday (6 May) reveals 1 million species are at risk of extinction, with agriculture and fishing the primary causes of the deterioration, which also threatens humankind. EURACTIV's media partner, The Guardian, reports.

The EU and mako sharks: From sinner to saviour?

The EU should match its rhetoric on sustainable fisheries by leading global efforts to preserve mako sharks, argues Staci McLennan.

The Sustainable Blue Economy: EU’s actions must match its words

As global leaders met at the world’s first Sustainable Blue Economy conference this week, the EU must face the sobering reality of the state of our ocean and stand by its commitments to sustainably protect and effectively manage Europe’s seas before it’s too late, writes Dr Samantha Burgess.

Fishing nations fail in bid to cut quotas for depleted bigeye tuna

Dozens of nations on Monday failed to agree on measures to preserve one of the planet's most valuable fish: the bigeye tuna, backbone of a billion-dollar business that is severely overfished.

When will Denmark stop overfishing and start enforcing the rules?

Denmark has become the worst perpetrator of Baltic overfishing over the last years, putting in serious danger entire species, such as the Baltic’s iconic cod, warns Rebecca Hubbard.

The EU must take the lead on international fisheries governance

As the largest seafood market in the world, importing more than 60% of its seafood from other countries, the EU has a responsibility to tackle illegal fishing, writes Dr Samantha Burgess.

EU opportunity to make fish discarding history

On World Ocean Day (8 June), it is important to bring back to the forefront the debate of overfishing which is undermining the health of our oceans. Five years after the reform on the EU Common Fisheries Policy nothing much has changed, and discarding at sea is still common practice, writes Rebecca Hubbard.

Ecolabels have lost all credibility, report claims

Lack of transparency, oversights, confusion… A report by the Dutch Foundation Changing Markets, published on 3 May, reveals the inefficiency of environmental labels, particularly for seafood, textiles and palm oil. EURACTIV's partner Le Journal de l'environnement reports.

WTO relaunches negotiations on fisheries subsidies

The WTO has recently announced that negotiations on fisheries subsidies around the world will be relaunched, with the aim to secure an agreement by 2019.

Ireland emerges as big winner of fisheries Council

Fisheries ministers pulled an all-nighter to reach an agreement on fishing limits for 2018, giving Ireland more a €20m windfall. The Council says progress has been made to achieve sustainable management of fish stocks but NGOs say the new limits are above scientific advice. And the industry was caught gate-crashing, again.

Council and Parliament agree on ‘flexible’ fishing limits for North Sea

EU member states and Norway reached a preliminary agreement with the European Parliament late on Thursday night (7 December) on fishing limits in the North Sea ahead of next week's Fisheries Council.

Disgraceful behaviour by the EU at high-level tuna meeting in Marrakesh

While claiming to fight for the oceans and put sustainability first, the European Commission is pushing for the largest total allowable catches of bluefin tuna ever seen, without a solid scientific basis, write Linnéa Engström, Ricardo Serrão Santos and Norica Nicolai.

EU fishermen weigh in on Brexit tug-of-war

On Monday (23 October) 60 coastal communities from nine EU countries called on EU negotiators to secure EU fishermen’s interests in Brexit talks, as the UK seeks to take fisheries out of the final deal.

EU rules out tax on plastic products to reduce waste

EU opts for public awareness campaign on the impacts of plastics on the environment saying a tax would not be sustainable, reports EURACTIV's media partner, The Guardian.

Electric sting: Dutch fleet reported for electrifying fish

The Netherlands has overissued licenses for ‘pulse fishing’, a practice the EU banned between 1998 and 2007, and has been reported to the European Commission. EURACTIV’s partner Journal de l’Environnement reports.

Fishing for trouble: How Europe is losing money by overfishing

Replenishing Europe’s fishing stocks could create thousands of jobs and boost the EU's GDP by €4.9 billion per year, a new study says, but environmental activists warn that governments lack the political will to implement EU guidelines on sustainable fishing.

The EU adopts a global fishing authorisation system

Almost 60% of fish resources are at the limit of sustainability. The global fishing fleet is far too large to ensure sustainable fishing and the overall picture is alarming around the world, writes Linnéa Engström.