Fact Sheets

• How Overfishing Impacts You: Subsidising Fishing - How Many Times Must We Pay for Our Fish

  • May 21, 2012, 11:30 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  When you buy your fish at the supermarket or fishmonger, you might think that’s the only time you pay for your fish. Well, you would be wrong. This briefing exposes how Europeans are paying again and again for the same fish caught by EU vessels.More

   

• How Overfishing Impacts You: It's fish, Captain, but not as we know it!

  • Apr 25, 2012, 10:40 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  A great fraud is being committed on an unsuspecting public in some EU member states: fish is being mislabelled and passed off as more expensive or even sustainably caught species.More

   

• How Overfishing Impacts You: Fishy Traditions We Have Lost

  • Dec 19, 2011, 11:05 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  This briefing published by OCEAN2012 exposes how overfishing impacts on people’s eating habits across Europe. It is part of a series of briefings illustrating the impacts of overfishing on people or marine ecosystems caused by the excess removal of millions of tonnes of marine life every year. This briefing is available in multiple languages.More

   

• Preliminary Reaction to the Commission's Proposal for a Future EU Maritime and Fisheries Fund COM (2011)

  • Dec 12, 2011, 14:05 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  Europe’s fishing grounds were once amongst the most productive in the world, but thirty years of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) have resulted in serious depletion of fish populations, ecosystem degradation, and damage to species, habitats and sites.More

   

• To MSY and Beyond: Achieving Healthy Stocks to Achieve Healthy Seas

  • Nov 23, 2011, 13:25 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  Healthy seas and productive fish stocks are a precondition for a sustainable and profitable fishing sector.More

   

• Fleet Overcapacity is Driving Overfishing

  • Nov 14, 2011, 13:00 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  The size and capacity of the EU fleet is estimated to be 2 to 3 times above the sustainable level in a number of fisheries, according to European Commission figures. This overcapacity drives overfishing, making the fleet economically unviable. Too many, powerful and destructive boats are chasing too few fish.More

   

• You Can Turn the Tide for Europe's Fish Stocks

  • Sep 07, 2011, 14:30 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  • Polski

  Europe’s fishing grounds were once among the most productive in the world, but forty years of the CFP have resulted in serious depletion of fish populations, ecosystem degradation and damage to species, habitats and sites protected by EU environmental legislation.More

   

• The Battle for Ocean Supremacy - The Jellyfish Conquests

  • Aug 15, 2011, 16:20 EST
  • European Marine Programme

   For decades scientists have been studying the causes and consequences of jellyfish blooms in ecosystems. They agree that jellyfish and fisheries-based ecosystems have a complex relationship and evidence suggests that these ecosystems can reach a tipping point, shifting rapidly from being fish-dominated to jellyfish-dominated. This report is avaliable in multiple languages.  More

   

• Ocean Science Factsheet: Common Fishery Terms

  • Mar 15, 2010, 14:45 EST
  • European Marine Programme, Ocean Science Division

   This fact sheet provides definitions of commonly used fisheries terms.More

   

• Briefing: Overcapacity, What Overcapacity?

  • Jul 15, 2009, 14:55 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  A briefing to the report, "Overcapacity, What Overcapacity?"More

   

• The Pew Environment Group's Position on the Proposed EU Regulation on IUU Fishing

  • Jan 01, 2009, 13:35 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  The Pew Environment Group supports the European Commission’s proposal for a new Council Regulation to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities, which significantly undermine the integrity of sustainable fisheries management programmes throughout the world.More

   

• Pew Environment Group in the European Union

  • May 01, 2008, 12:00 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  An overview of our mission, the way we work, and the European Marine Programme.More

   

Reports

• Fish Dependence: The Increasing Reliance of the EU on Fish from Elsewhere

  • Jul 01, 2011, 13:05 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  European Union (EU) fish stocks are in an unprecedentedly poor state yet fish consumption throughout Europe remains high.More

   

• Ocean Science Series Science Brief: Conserving Atlantic Bluefin Tuna with Spawning Sanctuaries

  • Oct 26, 2010, 15:45 EST
  • European Marine Programme, Ocean Science Division

  Atlantic bluefin tuna populations in both the western and eastern Atlantic Ocean are currently at very low levels, and additional management measures are needed to rebuild their populations.More

   

• Ocean Science Summary: Overfishing Trends and the Global Food Crisis

  • Sep 14, 2010, 16:20 EST
  • European Marine Programme, Ocean Science Division

  Thara Srinivasan of the Pacific Eco-informatics and Computational Ecology Lab, Rashid Sumaila of the University of British Columbia and their collaborators assessed potential losses, globally and regionally, in fisheries catch (reported landings) and revenue (landed, or dockside, value of the catch) resulting from overfishing. This Pew Ocean Science Series report is a summary of the scientists’ findings.More

   

• Ocean Science Summary: Global Benefits and Impacts of Marine Recreational Activities

  • Sep 14, 2010, 12:45 EST
  • European Marine Programme, Ocean Science Division

  Marine recreational activities (MRAs), such as recreational fishing and whale watching, are being enjoyed by more people than ever and can have significant economic benefits. However, they have historically been over-looked in ocean resource management efforts even though these activities depend upon healthy marine ecosystems. To incorporate MRAs effectively into marine resource management plans, managers need to be able to quantify a full range of the benefits and impacts of MRAs.More

   

• Ocean Science Summary: Subsidizing Global Fisheries

  • Sep 14, 2010, 12:25 EST
  • European Marine Programme, Ocean Science Division

  Global fisheries receive billions of dollars in subsidies each year. Although some of this money, such as that to improve fisheries management, can promote sustainable fishing practices, other funding can lead to overfishing in the world’s oceans. Capacity-enhancing subsidies, for example for fuel or boat construction, reduce costs for fishers, enabling them to increase their capacity and catch more fish. The unintended consequence of this kind of assistance is that encouraging fishers to bring in larger catches contributes to unsustainable fishing practices over the long-term.  More

   

• Ocean Science Summary: Marine Fisheries and the World Economy

  • Sep 14, 2010, 11:55 EST
  • European Marine Programme, Ocean Science Division

  People in coastal countries depend on healthy fisheries for their livelihoods. Gross revenue globally from marine fisheries has been estimated during the last decade at $80 billion to $85 billion annually. This estimate, however, reflects only the landed, or market, value of the fish as they first leave the boat, and it underestimates the full economic impact of fisheries. A more accurate accounting of the value of the fishing industry to the global economy would incorporate the indirect effects on related industries that depend on well-managed fisheries.  More

   

• Toward Improvement In Rebuilding Fisheries: Lessons from the United States

  • Jul 13, 2010, 12:30 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  This report seeks to describe the process and pitfalls through the experience of the United States in enacting and amending legislation to manage its fisheries resources.More

   

• Ocean Science Series: Sharks - The State of the Science

  • May 26, 2010, 12:55 EST
  • European Marine Programme, Global Shark Conservation, Ocean Science Division

  Declines in population sizes of sharks, as much as 70–80 percent, have been reported globally. This review of the current scientific literature documents the number of sharks killed per year, the causes of this mortality and the impact on ecosystems after large predators are removed.More

   

• Ocean Science Series: High Seas Fisheries Management Gets Low Marks

  • May 24, 2010, 13:10 EST
  • European Marine Programme, Sea Around Us, Ocean Science Division

  Fishing on the high seas—areas beyond the 200-nautical-mile jurisdiction of coastal states—is increasing, largely driven by advanced vessel and gear technology, which facilitates fishing far from shore. High seas fisheries are overseen by various regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs)—intergovernmental bodies made up of nations that have agreed to cooperatively manage fish stocks beyond their national boundaries. Although RFMOs were established to manage and conserve high seas fish stocks, these populations are declining (Myers and Worm 2003).  More

   

• FIFG 2000-2006 Shadow Evaluation

  • Mar 31, 2010, 14:45 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  This report assesses the environmental and social impacts of the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG), running from 2000 to 2006, using a range of quantitative and qualitative information. EU allocations for FIFG totalled €3.2 billion, of which Spain received nearly half. Member State contributions brought the total allocation of FIFG funding to €4.9 billion.More

   

• Protecting Life in the Sea

  • Jan 01, 2010, 16:50 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  • Deutsch
  • Français
  • Italiano

  Unrestrained impact of human activity is imposing fundamental, perhaps irreversible, changes on the world's oceans. This brochure examines the Pew Environment Group's work over the last 15 years and looking ahead to 2012, to increase public awareness and promote solutions through scientific research, public education and the promotion of strong conservation policies.More

   

• Environmental and Social Criteria for Allocating Access to Fisheries Resources

  • Dec 15, 2009, 16:20 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  Report commissioned by the Pew Environment Group, on behalf of OCEAN2012, written by Chris Grieve, Executive Director, Meridian Prime. The report highlights environmental and social criteria that are successfully employed in allocating access to fisheries resources.More

   

• Pew Environment Group's Submission to the Consultation on CFP Reform

  • Dec 11, 2009, 16:00 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  The Pew Environment Group’s European Marine Programme contribution to the consultation on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy.More

   

• Port State Performance

  • Dec 08, 2009, 15:40 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  Pew’s Port State Performance project consolidates six years of movement data on IUU-listed vessels, tracking their port visits globally to evaluate port State performance in combating illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU). The final data and findings were uploaded on May 25th, 2010.More

   

• Ocean Science Series: Redistribution of Fish Catch by Climate Change

  • Oct 15, 2009, 13:15 EST
  • European Marine Programme, Sea Around Us, Ocean Science Division

  Global climate change is expected to affect marine fisheries productivity because of changes in water temperature, ocean currents and other ocean conditions. Marine fisheries are an important food source, and changes in the total amount or geographic distribution of fish available for catch could affect food security. Changes in marine food supply due to climate change, however, were previously unknown.  More

   

• Overcapacity - What Overcapacity?

  • Jul 15, 2009, 15:30 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  An evaluation of Member States reporting on efforts to achieve a sustainable balance between capacity and fishing opportunities in 2007.  More

   

• Regional Governance: Making it Work for Fisheries and the Environment

  • Mar 31, 2009, 14:10 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  Report from the Madrid Workshop held on March 31, 2009, to highlight the importance of strengthening fisheries control by WWF and OCEAN2012.More

   

• Preliminary Comments on Proposal for a Community Control System to Comply with the Common Fisheries Policy

  • Jan 01, 2009, 13:50 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  The Pew Environment Group generally welcomes the Commission’s proposal as it includes major improvements on existing measures as well as additional tools to enhance compliance with the CFP, by both Member States and various actors in the fisheries sector along the chain of production.More

   

• Costs of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing in EU Fisheries

  • Nov 04, 2008, 14:35 EST
  • Global Campaign to End Illegal Fishing, European Marine Programme

  Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing is a serious threat to fisheries sustainability in EU fisheries, and worldwide.More

   

Other Resources

• 217 Civil Society Groups Call on European Union Fisheries Ministers to End Overfishing

  • Apr 10, 2013, 18:00 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  As negotiations on the reform of the European Union’s Common Fisheries Policy, or CFP, enter the final and decisive stage, more than 217 civil society groups are calling on EU fisheries ministers to support an end to overfishing and the speedy restoration of fish stocks.More

   

• European Parliament Votes to Rebuild Europe's Dwindling Fish Stocks

  • Feb 06, 2013, 09:00 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  In a historic vote, the European Parliament has voted to rebuild fish stocks by 2020, a key step on the path to ending overfishing.More

   

• U.S. Names Illegal Fishing Countries, Now Must Act

  • Jan 17, 2013, 11:30 EST
  • Global Campaign to End Illegal Fishing, European Marine Programme, Global Shark Conservation, Global Tuna Conservation

  To get a country to curtail illegal fishing, it appears, will take more than public shaming. A January 11th U.S. government report to Congress listed 10 countries whose vessels are known to engage in illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing on the high seas; five of the countries have made the list before. More

   

• European Parliament Shows Leadership on Common Fisheries Policy

  • Dec 18, 2012, 10:00 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  Members of the European Parliament’s Fisheries Committee today voted in favour of ending overfishing in and by the EU by 2015 and for the recovery of fish stocks by 2020. This is a major step in ensuring the future sustainability of EU fish stocks and for the long-term stability of the EU fishing fleet.More

   

• At Last: EU Parliament Votes for Stronger Shark Finning Ban

  • Nov 22, 2012, 06:30 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  After years of debate and procrastination, the European Parliament voted today to close major loopholes in the European Union’s ban on shark finning, the practice of slicing off a shark’s fins and discarding the body at sea. More

   

• EU Fisheries Ministers Fail to End Subsidies That Promote Overfishing

  • Oct 24, 2012, 08:30 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  When Europeans buy fish at the store or fishmonger, they might think that’s the only time they pay for your fish. Unfortunately they are not; actually they are paying again and again for the same fish caught by EU vessels.More

   

• The Latest: EU Commission Makes History

  • Jul 20, 2012, 11:30 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  Read The Latest, Pew Environment Group's newsletter. This edition features a new study on beluga whales, a virtual field trip to Oregon, and a spotlight on the economic benfits of rebuilding global fisheries.More

   

• Fish Dependence Day 2012

  • Jul 06, 2012, 10:05 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  The European Union would run out of fish half way through the year if it were only to consume fish from its own waters. From July 7, Europeans start eating somebody else’s fish, as the EU becomes dependent on seafood from elsewhere.More

   

• European Fish Weeks: End Overfishing or Fishing Will be Over

  • Jun 08, 2012, 09:35 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  Europe’s fishing grounds were once among the most productive in the world. But poor management has resulted in serious depletion of fish populations, ecosystem degradation and damage to species, habitats and sites protected by EU environmental legislation.More

   

• A Fish Shape to End Overfishing

  • Jun 08, 2012, 09:30 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  All European Fish Weeks activities will share three things: a common message, end overfishing; the involvement of an MEP; and participants making a fish shape. A fish what? We mean groups of people gathering together in the shape of a fish to demonstrate their awareness of overfishing and their desire to see politicians ending it.More

   

• Shark Conservation Gets a Boost in Europe

  • Nov 21, 2011, 13:00 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  The Pew coordinated Shark Alliance coalition welcomed the long-awaited proposal today from the European Commission for closing the loopholes in the European Union shark finning ban.  More

   

• Make the Push to Protect Europe's Sharks

  • Oct 14, 2011, 13:00 EST
  • European Marine Programme, Global Shark Conservation

  With a week of activities around Europe, the Shark Alliance and European citizens call on EU fisheries ministers to protect sharks from overexploitation and finning.  More

   

• European Fisheries Fund Sustainability Criteria

  • Oct 09, 2011, 15:55 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  The European Union’s fisheries are in crisis: overfishing is rampant and the Common Fisheries Policy is failing in its objective of managing fish stocks sustainably.More

   

• The Opportunity to Fix Europe's Depleted Fisheries

  • Jul 13, 2011, 16:00 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  Europe aims to return its fish, fishers and waters to their former richness.More

   

• OCEAN2012 Briefing: An Initial Reaction to the Commission’s Package on Reform of the CFP

  • Jul 13, 2011, 11:05 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  The first package on reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), published on July 13 2011, sets out the Commission’s ambitions for the reform, including a proposal for a new Basic Regulation, a proposal for a new organisation of the market and a communication on the external dimension. The package includes some significant improvements, but is not the radical reform proposal that we expected. This briefing is avaliable in multiple languages.More

   

• Europeans Are Eating Someone Else's Fish

  • Jul 01, 2011, 14:00 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  For the rest of the year, Europeans are eating someone else’s fish. As Europe becomes increasingly dependent on imported seafood, it is exporting overfishing overseas.More

   

• European Fish Week: Back to the Future

  • Jun 06, 2011, 13:30 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  Most EU fish populations are overfished. The upcoming reform of the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy is an opportunity to change this. In a week of activities across Europe, OCEAN2012 asks EU fisheries ministers to restore Europe’s fisheries and the communities that depend on them to their former richness.More

   

• FishSubsidy.org: Stop Spending in the Dark

  • May 13, 2011, 15:45 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  Markus Knigge, policy and research director for the Pew Environment Group's EU Marine Programme, talks about the need for transparency and access to data to evaluate current spending and thus affect reform of the European Common Fisheries Policy.  More

   

• OCEAN2012 Position on the Elimination of Discards in EU Waters and for EU Fishing Activities in Third Countries Waters

  • May 04, 2011, 11:25 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  The CFP reform offers an excellent opportunity to establish new policies that will address the discard problem. What follows are policy recommendations of OCEAN2012 for the elimination of discards under a reformed CFP. Document is available in English and Spanish.More

   

• A Coruña Declaration

  • Apr 03, 2010, 11:10 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  • Français

  This declaration was developed by fishing, environment and development organizations in order to draw the attention of EU decision-makers to the challenges and opportunities of sustainable coastal and artisanal fishing. The declaration has been signed by over 70 organizations and will be presented to the EU Commission and Parliament over the coming weeks.More

   

Compilations

• OCEAN2012: Transforming European Fisheries

  • Apr 23, 2012, 09:05 EST
  • European Marine Programme

   These briefings published by OCEAN2012 expose how overfishing  harms the EU's coastal communities and affects the lives of  countless Europeans.  This series of briefings illustrates the impacts of overfishing on people or marine ecosystems caused by the excess removal of millions of tonnes of marine life every year.More

   

Image Galleries

• EU Marine Programme

  • May 23, 2011, 16:25 EST
  • European Marine Programme

  Pew's European Marine Programme works to end global overfishing and the destruction of the world's oceans by strengthening EU's role in fisheries management.More