Nearly 30 organisations, including NGOs and recreational fishing representatives from across Europe, have submitted a joint response to the European Commission’s consultation on sustainable fishing opportunities for 2026. The submission sets out recommendations to align catch limits with the Common Fisheries Policy, apply precautionary and ecosystem-based management, and prioritise the recovery of depleted stocks. It highlights the need to set fishing opportunities below ICES headline advice where necessary to reflect ecosystem considerations, whilst also accounting for uncertainty in certain scientific stock assessments. It also addresses key implementation challenges, including compliance with the Landing Obligation, the management of non-TAC species, and the development of effective rebuilding plans for overfished stocks.
The submission acknowledges improvements in European fisheries sustainability since the early 2000s, reflecting the potential of the Common Fisheries Policy if fully implemented in all European sea basins. However, it notes that current reporting by the Commission on progress towards ending overfishing overlooks key indicators of population and ecosystem , such as age/size structures and food web integrity, which masks fundamental flaws in EU fisheries management. This means conclusions drawn exclusively based on such reporting, without appropriate assessment against biomass- and ecosystem-health-related targets, are incomplete and potentially misleading.
Despite reductions in overfishing in some regions, the EU has missed its binding 2020 deadlines to end overfishing under the CFP and to achieve Good Environmental Status under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Weak implementation continues to have ecological, economic and social consequences, with unsustainable practices undermining both stock recovery and long-term fleet viability.
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