With around 87 per cent of the world’s fisheries overexploited, global action to address the problem of overcapacity is essential to restoring some of the world’s fisheries.
Xavier Pastor, Executive Director of Oceana in Europe stated: “This joint declaration constitutes the strongest call in years to put an end to overfishing in the world’s oceans by sustainably managing the fleet and eliminating subsidies that promote overcapacity. Oceana welcomes this step and encourages signatories to put their words into practice by ensuring the effective implementation of this commitment”.
This initiative was led by the European Commission and the EU Greek Presidency, and shows the ambition of the EU to balance the capacity of its fleet with available resources. The EU has one of the world’s largest fleets (80,000 vessels), including an external fleet that operates in many parts of the world under various international agreements.
