The European Commission has published its long-awaited evaluation of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), finding that it is fit for purpose while full implementation is lacking. WWF welcomes the assessment and calls on Member States to match the ambition of the law with enforcement on the water.
WWF welcomes the evaluation’s positive assessment of the CFP and advocates for its full implementation. “The Commission has said what data had already confirmed: the CFP works where it is actually applied and it benefits both people and nature. Member States have had the tools for over a decade – it is time they used them as the legal obligations they are, not as guidelines to be selectively applied when convenient,” says Dr Antonia Leroy, Head of Ocean Policy at WWF European Policy Office.
Where the CFP has been enforced, real and measurable progress has been made. Between 2013 and 2023, overfishing declined significantly in both the North-East Atlantic – where the share of overfished stocks fell from 40% to 22% – and the Mediterranean, where it dropped from 70% to 51%. Effective implementation of conservation measures has driven healthy fish populations which in turn has led to the net overall increased profitability of the sector by 120% while the average annual wage of a full-time worker rose by 30%.
WWF also welcomes the evaluation’s findings on the external dimension of the CFP. “The EU’s role in Regional Fisheries Management Organisations and the new generation of fisheries partnership agreements should focus on win-win cooperation. Fish do not stop at borders, and neither does the damage from poor fisheries management. As climate and overfishing pressure mounts, Europe should be raising standards globally,” says Laure Guillevic, Ocean Policy Officer at WWF European Policy Office.
The European Commission’s evaluation of the CFP is clear: the framework works. Europe does not need a new fisheries policy, but for national governments to apply the one it has.
