On behalf of the European Union’s fishing industry, representative body Europêche has issued an urgent plea for fair funding, balanced fisheries management, and sustainable trade rules as critical decisions loom regarding the bloc’s next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and negotiations over upcoming catch limits.
The organization’s calls follow a recent meeting it had with E.U. Fisheries Commissioner Costas Kadis and fisheries attachés from 12 member nations to discuss funding, 2026 fishing opportunities, international negotiations, and new regulatory measures.
In particular, Europêche expressed deep concern over the European Commission’s proposal for the 2028-2034 E.U. budget, which, in its proposed state, would slash ring-fenced fisheries funding by 67 percent to just EUR 2 billion (USD 2.3 billion).
Europêche Managing Director Daniel Voces told SeafoodSource the European fishing sector is already under severe strain and in steady decline, facing rising operational costs, mounting regulatory pressures, global competition, and persistent labor shortages.
“A deep funding cut, combined with the need to compete with other sectors for the same financial resources, would deliver a serious blow to investment in sustainable and low-carbon fishing,” he said. “It risks halting progress on marine management and ecosystem protection while undermining efforts to attract young workers and improve skills and working conditions. In short, competition over E.U. funding could delay or cancel projects essential to the green transition and the sector’s competitiveness.”
However, Voces said there’s still time to reverse course before the new funding period takes effect in 2028, with Europêche urging E.U. policymakers to act now to safeguard the sector’s future.
“The priority is to secure an independent fund dedicated exclusively to fisheries with at least the same level of budgetary support as today,” he said. “This will give operators the legal certainty and stability they need to keep investing in sustainability and innovation.”
Elsewhere, Europêche has acknowledged stock management throughout the bloc that has kept fish populations healthy or on the path to recovery but criticized the continued use of zero-catch advice for several stocks.
In the Baltic Sea, it said further reductions in bycatch quotas for cod and herring could force companies out of business and ignore the role other pressures, such as pollution and seal predation, play on stocks.
In the Mediterranean, it highlighted reduced fishing effort and strict management measures and called for additional fishing days and the removal of red shrimp from quota systems.
In the Northeast Atlantic, Europêche echoed E.U. Advisory Councils’ concerns that overly precautionary ICES advice penalizes the sector, warning that zero-TAC proposals for cod, haddock, and whiting could devastate coastal communities.
“In mixed fisheries where these vessels operate, it is practically impossible to avoid catching some of these species,” Voces said, adding that implementing a zero-catch rule would trigger severe ‘choke’ situations, in which vessels must stop fishing altogether because one exhausted stock limits catches of all others.
Voces explained that rather than adopt zero-catch advice, Europêche wants to see “stock recovery guidance” that allows continued activity while rebuilding fish populations. Meanwhile, the sector advocates for continued use of bycatch quotas and quota pools, consistent with recent court rulings, to manage unavoidable catches responsibly without paralyzing the fleet.
A more balanced approach – one that integrates environmental sustainability with community resilience – is essential to prevent the collapse of Europe’s coastal economies and to maintain progress toward long-term stock recovery, Europêche said.
Additionally, Europêche again warned that new free trade agreements (FTAs) could undermine E.U. producers.
Under the new E.U.-U.S. deal, for instance, the E.U. faces a 15 percent tariff on its seafood exports, while American imports enter tariff-free, creating significant market imbalances. Europêche is calling for strict origin rules and tariff derogations to protect E.U. seafood exporters.
Voces insisted Europêche supports open and fair trade but that it doesn’t want new FTAs to “come at the expense of the viability of European fishing fleets.”
“Any future agreement should include robust sectoral safeguards, gradual market openings, and enforceable sustainability and traceability clauses to prevent unfair competition from imports, especially if produced under lower standards,” he said. “Europêche calls on the European Commission to pursue trade arrangements that open markets on reciprocal and sustainable terms, ensuring that European fishers are not disadvantaged in global competition and get better conditions for exports.”
This comes as Europêche has also maintained calls to exclude tuna products from FTAs currently under negotiation with Thailand and Indonesia, as it’s “a sensitive species” for the E.U. market.
If exclusion is not possible, the E.U. should apply strict rules of origin, granting preferential access only to wholly obtained fish and prohibiting cumulation, Voces said.
