Bloom: the European Pact for the Oceans is a gift to fishing lobbies – It was supposed to mark a turning point for European marine protection, but the ‘European Pact for the Oceans’ has turned out to be a weak and visionless document, which, according to the French NGO Bloom, is a gift to industrial fishing lobbies, to the detriment of biodiversity, the climate and the future of the sector.
Presented by the European Commission during the Third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC), the Pact has been heavily criticised by civil society and the scientific community. What is disappointing is the total absence of binding measures against destructive fishing techniques, such as trawling, which is never mentioned in the 27 pages of the document, despite its proven danger to marine ecosystems.
According to the analysis released by BLOOM, this is not just a missed opportunity, but a real political surrender by the European Commission to pressure from industrial lobbies. At the heart of the Pact is not a real ecological transition, but the technological modernisation of the fleet and the replacement of engines to reduce emissions. But, as the organisation points out, ‘a trawl net remains destructive, even if powered by an electric or hydrogen engine’.
The strategy proposed by the Commission – a ‘case-by-case’ management of marine protected areas – dismantles the precautionary principle and opens the door to the continuation of industrial fishing in the very areas that should be protected. For Bloom, this approach undermines the commitments made in 2023, which provided for a ban on trawling in all MPAs by 2030.
The issue of social justice has also been left out of the Pact. There is no concrete reference to the promotion of small-scale fishing, nor to the effective implementation of Article 17 of the CFP on the transparent distribution of fishing quotas. The document merely proposes a generic vademecum and the creation of an advisory council, without any obligation on Member States.
Finally, the decision not to create a centralised ‘Blue Fund’ to finance the sector’s transition highlights the fragmented nature of the approach. Resources will continue to be scattered across various European instruments, without a coherent and coordinated vision.
The new Pact, Bloom concludes, represents a victory for industrial lobbies. After the backtracking on the Green Deal and the Omnibus Regulation, the oceans now also seem to be abandoned to a logic that ignores science, sustainability and the future of coastal communities.
Bloom: the European Pact for the Oceans is a gift to fishing lobbies
