EU Action Plan: protecting and restoring marine ecosystems for sustainable and resilient fisheries
DEVE-PA-751686
Committee on Development · Rapporteur: Catherine Chabaud
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The Committee on Development's draft opinion asks the Committee on Fisheries to include its suggestions in a resolution on the EU Action Plan for marine ecosystems and fisheries.¶ It calls for global ocean preservation, better waste and plastic management, and a revised Commission strategy covering all blue economy sectors.¶¶ It wants ocean governance to benefit small-scale fisheries, transparency clauses to cover foreign fleets, and human rights clauses in fisheries partnership agreements.¶¶ It urges sufficient funds to help fishing communities cope with climate change and the war in Ukraine, and flags the limited EU budget for marine protection.¶
Committee position. The Committee on Development proposes that the Committee on Fisheries incorporate its suggestions into the motion for a resolution, covering ocean preservation, blue economy strategy, ocean governance, human rights clauses in fisheries agreements, and funding for fishing communities.¶¶¶
Key points
- Calls on the Committee on Fisheries to incorporate these suggestions into its motion for a resolution.¶
- Recalls the ocean's role in climate, food systems, carbon sequestration, jobs, transport and internet communications, and warns that 3.3 billion people depend on sea food for at least 20% of their animal protein.¶
- Stresses shared responsibility to preserve the ocean and calls for closer cooperation on waste and wastewater management and urgent action on plastic pollution.¶
- Welcomes the Commission's ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management but asks it to revise the strategy to include all blue economy sectors, including extractive industries.
- Calls for strategic global ocean governance benefiting local small-scale fisheries, based on sustainable practices with coastal communities, and for transparency clauses to apply to fishing resources caught by foreign fleets.¶
- Recalls the EU's commitment to policy coherence for development and calls for comprehensive human rights clauses in sustainable fisheries partnership agreements, which should be transparent and aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals.¶
- Insists EU protein consumption must not undermine food security in developing countries and that sectoral support should contribute to sustainable development of the fisheries sector.
- Urges mobilisation of sufficient funds to mitigate the impacts on fishing communities of climate change and Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.¶
- Is concerned about the limited amount of EU budget allocated to protecting and restoring marine ecosystems.
Who is affected
- The Committee on Fisheries, which is asked to include these suggestions in its resolution.¶
- The Commission, which is asked to revise its strategy to cover all blue economy sectors.¶
- Coastal communities and local small-scale fisheries, which should benefit from ocean governance.¶
- Developing countries, whose food security must not be undermined by EU protein consumption.¶
- Fishing communities, which need funds to mitigate climate change and the war in Ukraine.¶
Figures and deadlines
- 3.3 billion people depend on food from the sea for at least 20% of their animal protein intake.¶