Changes from plenary report to adopted text

– having regard to the Commission communication of 19 February 2025 entitled ‘A Vision for Agriculture and Food – Shaping together an attractive farming and agri-food sector for future generations’ (COM(2025)0075),

– having regard to the Commission foresight study of 7 January 2025 entitled ‘Fishers of the Future’,

– having regard to European Court of Auditors special report 20/2022 of 26 September 2022 entitled ‘EU action to combat illegal fishing – Control systems in place but weakened by uneven checks and sanctions by Member States’,

– having regard to the International Labour Organization (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work of 1998, the 11 ILO fundamental instruments and ILO Convention 188 of 2007 on Work in Fishing,

– having regard to the recommendation to the Commission of the Aquaculture Advisory Council (AAC) of December 2021 on achieving greater sustainability standards of imported aquaculture products and a level playing field,

– having regard to the AAC recommendation to the Commission of July 2019 on the import of subsidized portion-sized rainbow trout from Turkey,

– having regard to Rule 55 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Fisheries (A10-0205/2026),

A. whereas the main objectives of the EU fisheries and ocean policy are to ensure that fishing and ocean use are environmentally sustainable, economically viable and socially responsible; whereas strong governance frameworks and high social, economic and environmental standards have been established to achieve these objectives;

B. whereas fisheries and aquaculture are vital for food supply and food security; whereas the EU is highly dependent on aquatic food imports (around 70 %), this dependency has continued to increase in recent years, and measures must be urgently implemented to reduce it, with a view to increasing and securing the EU’s food sovereignty, reducing food waste, as well as fostering a thriving European fisheries and aquaculture sector;

C. whereas the CFP seeks to ensure that fishing and aquaculture activities are environmentally sustainable in the long-term and are managed in a way that is consistent with the objectives of achieving economic, social and employment benefits, and contribute to the availability of food supplies; whereas, however, while it incorporates environmental goals such as maintaining fish populations above levels that can produce the maximum sustainable yield, it often falls short of achieving its desired outcomes and lacks equivalent targets for the social and economic objectives of the fishing sector, highlighting the need to improve its implementation and assess the need for its revision;

D. whereas Article 39 TFEU requires that the CFP must, among other things, ensure a fair standard of living for the fishing community and assure the availability of food supplies; whereas the EU has some of the most sustainable fisheries in the world thanks to the CFP’s efforts to reduce overfishing and promote sector sustainability; whereas despite this, EU aquaculture production has stagnated since 2000, resulting in fewer jobs in the sector and a decline in the EU’s self-sufficiency rate in aquatic products;

E. whereas among the main objectives of the European Ocean Pact are to make sure that fisheries and aquaculture, including the processing sector, improve their competitiveness and resilience and ensure stable supply for the EU market, while maintaining an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management, and to promote at global level the EU’s objectives of strengthening the sustainability of imports and ensuring a level playing field;

F. whereas generational renewal within the fisheries and aquaculture sector is vital for securing the strategic autonomy of the EU and for recognising that the adoption of innovative fishing gear and the digitalisation of fishing practices are crucial to attracting younger generations to the sector, ensuring a sustainable future for both the fishing and aquaculture sectors;

G. whereas current fisheries legislation does not sufficiently address cross-cutting goals such as employment, economic viability, job security and workers’ welfare; whereas decent working conditions, future prospects and effective social protection are essential to attracting a new generation of fishers;

H. whereas the objectives of ensuring food supply, food security and a fair standard of living should play a more prominent role in the decision-making process; whereas it is therefore essential to incorporate specific social and economic indicators and objectives into the CFP regulatory framework;

I. whereas aquatic food products, especially most wild-caught fish, are a source of high-quality protein with a low environmental footprint compared to many other protein sources; whereas particularly in the case of shellfish and seaweed farming the carbon footprint is especially low as they provide additional environmental benefits such as carbon capture and water purification;

K. whereas aquatic food producers, including small-scale, artisanal fishers and shellfish gatherers and aquaculture producers and related sectors play a vital role for the society and for the communities they support;

L. whereas the 2024 Eurobarometer survey showed a decline in the consumption of aquatic food in the EU, which is mainly attributed to rising prices, but is also driven by limited availability of fresh or high-quality fish products and concerns over the country of origin and sustainability, among other factors, which tend to influence consumers’ choices and lead them to opt for cheaper, unhealthier and less nutritious food alternatives;

M. whereas the lack of a level playing field with non-EU countries sharing the same sea basin can distort competition and environmental sustainability in those regions;

N. whereas administrative procedures, such as licensing, spatial planning and other obligations in Member States and the EU, particularly on islands and in outermost regions, are generally stricter compared to certain non-EU countries that have trade relations with the EU and export products to the EU market;

P. whereas women constitute approximately a quarter of the aquaculture workforce and around half of the workforce in the fish processing industry; whereas they also play a vital role in small-scale fisheries, contributing significantly to tasks such as fishing gear preparation and maintenance, transporting fish to auctions, sales, administration and logistics;

Q. whereas coastal communities, islands, and the outermost regions are more vulnerable to unfair competition and the consequences of climate change, which significantly jeopardise natural resources, fishing activity, and the competitiveness, as well as future, of the sector, threaten aquaculture and EU food security, and adversely affect local economies and livelihoods;

Strategic importance of fisheries and aquaculture

1. Stresses that fisheries and aquaculture are vital for food supply, sovereignty and security in the EU; regrets, once again, the Commission’s lack of prominence and ambition in relation to the contribution and potential of the fisheries and aquaculture sector in previous strategies, namely in the Farm to Fork Strategy and ‘vision for agriculture and food’; calls on the Commission, in this regard, to redress this situation in its future ‘vision 2040 for fisheries and aquaculture’;

2. Highlights the critical role of the EU’s fishing and aquaculture sectors, including the processing sector, as central elements of a sustainable, resilient, and prosperous European food system, providing nutritious, healthy, high-quality and sustainable aquatic food – produced in line with stringent standards on traceability – to meet EU food security needs, contribute to healthier diets and competitiveness vis-à-vis non-EU country producers; stresses in particular the important role played by producers of fish, shellfish and other aquatic food, including small-scale fisheries, in providing a source of fresh short-chain food to communities in coastal, island, remote and outermost regions; calls on the EU to support domestic production of aquatic food products in order to contribute to the objective of food sovereignty;

3. Highlights the need to raise awareness among EU citizens about the benefits of nutritious and sustainable European aquatic food, including short supply chains, and to promote responsible consumption of EU aquatic foods and reduce food waste, which also supports EU producers and local communities, as well as to contribute to protect marine biological resources for future generations;

4. Calls on the Commission and the Council, when formulating policies, to attach greater importance to the contribution of fisheries to food security by providing high-quality seafood products; recognises the efforts made by the fisheries and aquaculture sector during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic or during the current Russian aggression against Ukraine, and others, as well as its contribution to the economic and social structure, and the cultural, touristic and gastronomic heritage of Europe’s coastal and island communities and outermost regions and their identity; calls on the Commission to assess the economic and social impact of the measures it intends to adopt for the sector and ensure that these measures do not inadvertently create unjustified barriers or undue advantage for imported products;

Regulatory framework, coherence and level playing field

5. Considers that the high social, economic and environmental standards, as well as the governance frameworks, adopted in the EU, and the sector’s commitment to meeting them, are key factors contributing to the quality and sustainability of EU fishery and aquaculture products; insists on the need to use the evaluation and possible future revision of the CFP, including the common market organisation (CMO), to identify potential improvements to the regulatory framework, and to promote simplification and the reduction in administrative burden, in order to support and strengthen EU production of aquatic food and achieve the CFP’s main objectives;

6. Emphasises that the EU’s high environmental, social and economic standards, coupled with a reduction in administrative burden, and legislative simplification, where possible and needed, are vital for bolstering the resilience and efficiency of European fisheries and aquaculture, such as shellfish farming supply chains, as well as for supporting vital employment opportunities in coastal communities that depend on fisheries, notably small-scale fishers, and for supporting local jobs and attracting investment in these sectors, making it possible to mitigate vulnerabilities to market shocks, including price volatility and supply shortages, while also ensuring a stable and profitable market for European aquatic food products;

7. Believes that equal consideration should be given to socio-economic factors and food supply availability alongside environmental sustainability criteria in the implementation of the CFP; emphasises that ensuring sustainable growth, fair competition and long-term food security and sovereignty requires a coherent alignment of fisheries, cohesion, social, education, trade, technology, science, development, health and environmental policies;

8. Calls on the Commission to assess other fisheries-related policies; stresses the importance of addressing challenges and administrative burdens arising from implementation at Member State level, while ensuring that EU rules are implemented in a proportionate and non-discriminatory manner across the EU, drawing inspiration from, for example, the 2023 common agricultural policy simplification package;