European Union

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Citizens are calling on the European Union to ensure that its fishing practices abroad are environmentally responsible. Many citizens have written to the President of the European Parliament on this subject since July 2025, calling for stronger ecological standards, transparency, and regulation of EU fishing activities outside EU waters.

We replied to citizens who took the time to write to the President.

Main elements of the reply Fishing outside EU waters

The Common Fisheries Policy of the European Union (EU) sets rules to ensure that EU fisheries and aquaculture are environmentally sustainable.

The EU’s fisheries rules include clear goals for management of fishing both inside and outside EU waters, making sure it respects international agreements and keeps the same standards everywhere. In 2017, new rules made it easier to track and share information about EU fishing fleets working outside the EU.

Globally, the EU tries to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, while also regulating catches by EU boats outside European waters.

The EU is an active member of most of the intergovernmental organisations that regulate fishing in international waters. It contributes to the decisions taken by these organisations and integrates them into EU law, which all EU fishing boats must follow.

The EU currently has about a dozen active Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements with non-EU countries. They allow EU boats to fish surplus stocks in the waters of those countries while promoting resource conservation, environmental sustainability and local development.

Agreements on fishing activities in non-EU waters are negotiated by the European Commission.

European Parliament and sustainable fisheries

In a January 2024 resolution, the European Parliament pointed out that Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements provide mutual benefits to both the EU and partner countries. It underlined that recent agreements include human rights clauses and better integrate the needs of local populations.

In its July 2025 resolution on the Sustainable Development Goals, Parliament emphasised the urgent need for binding global measures and an ecosystem-based approach to safeguarding the ocean’s long-term health.

The resolution highlights several points:

• Such measures must guarantee the protection of human rights alongside marine ecosystems.

• Supporting a just transition to sustainable fisheries is essential, including efforts to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.
• The ongoing decline in sustainable fish populations underscores the need for a regulatory framework based on ecosystem-based management, combined with efficient and transparent monitoring systems.
• Sustainable fishing practices, involving active community participation, are crucial to reducing overfishing and securing the long-term sustainability of marine resources.

Further information

Finally, we would like to highlight a publication from January 2025 in which the European Parliamentary Research Service conducted an analysis of the external dimension of the EU’s common fisheries policy.

Background

Citizens often send messages to the President of the European Parliament expressing their views and/or requesting action. The Citizens’ Enquiries Unit (AskEP) within the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) replies to these messages, which may sometimes be identical as part of wider public campaigns.

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