A new report from a group of environmental NGOs said that transparency failures and limited public access to critical data are just a few of several reasons why it is essential to reform the European Union’s sustainable fisheries partnership agreements (SFPAs).
It is further urging the European Commission to use its new Ocean Pact to become a leader on establishing ethical and sustainable fisheries.
The E.U. IUU Fishing Coalition, comprising the NGOs Oceana, the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), The Pew Charitable Trusts, and WWF, released a paper titled “A New Generation of E.U. Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements,” explaining that while SFPAs offer legal fishing access in exchange for support to partnering countries, these deals often fall short of the E.U.’s sustainability and human rights standards. As such, the group is insisting that key reforms to future agreements include strengthening their transparency clauses, generating more local community involvement, and disclosing all fishing activities that would occur under the deal’s framework.
E.U. IUU Fishing Coalition Coordinator Tom Walsh told SeafoodSource that current SFPAs and their accompanying protocols lack explicit provisions to actually deal with non-compliance or partial adherence to their transparency clauses. Adding these provisions, he said, could lead to the “next generation” of SFPAs that help guarantee that partner countries fully adhere to these clauses, with support provided by the E.U. when necessary.
“This is a complex issue that is currently being discussed between E.U. industry groups and civil society organizations, including several members of the E.U. IUU Coalition, within the framework of the Long Distance Advisory Council – an E.U. body that advises the Commission on its policies,” he said. “At present, there is also little information on the implementation of these ‘transparency clauses’ within, for example, the European Commission’s evaluations of SFPAs. By fixing this and including this information within public evaluations, an informed decision can be made when an agreement is renegotiated, and barriers to implementation can be properly assessed. This will turn provisions in principle into practical, effective action to remove barriers and ensure transparency in fisheries.”
Meanwhile, information on sectoral support spending outlined in SFPAs should be published on an annual basis and be made easily accessible to all stakeholders, Walsh said.
“This is something local stakeholders and civil society organizations have been calling for for quite some time, alongside greater inclusion when the areas which will receive sectoral support are mapped out,” he said. “This is a crucial step that the European Commission can take to ensure that the funds are spent correctly.”
The E.U. IUU Fishing Coalition said that in Europe’s new Ocean Pact, the European Commission has recognized that SFPAs need to change, but the group wants to ensure these changes go beyond simply improving the wording within specific clauses. More specifically, increased focus should be placed on proper implementation and improved monitoring of implementation by relevant joint committees, Walsh said.
“The European Commission has a duty to ensure these agreements are truly mutually beneficial, and coastal communities must be consulted as this ‘new generation’ is formed,” he said. “In practice, tangible benefits from SFPAs are often unseen in partner countries; this must change.”
Additionally, as part of an SFPA’s evaluation process, the group advocates that more should be done to facilitate the participation of the local communities affected by these agreements and that this process should specifically prioritize the participation of small-scale fishing communities that may be potentially affected by E.U. fishing activities.
“It’s up to both the E.U. institutions and coastal state governments to ensure that local communities and civil society have a meaningful seat at the table whenever these agreements are discussed and implemented. On the E.U. side, this could happen through the involvement of advisory councils. In partner countries, existing consultative committees and stakeholder groups, bringing together local fishers, scientists and others, could play that role,” Walsh said. “We know that the E.U. can be a powerful force for more sustainable fisheries around the world, such as through the highly successful ‘carding system’ to encourage other nations to take the fight against illegal fishing seriously. However, we also know that E.U. vessels have contributed to overfishing that has had serious impacts on the lives and livelihoods of coastal communities in non-E.U. nations. Putting the voices of these communities at the heart of the SFPA process is essential if they are going to be the effective tool for sustainable, legal, and ethical fisheries we all want them to be.”
