The open letter has now been signed by 37 SSF organisations, representing thousands of fishers across Europe. We are calling for an end to unfair subsidies and quotas driving overfishing, high rates of bycatch, discard and emissions, resulting in poor conditions for the sector. If small-scale, low-impact fishers were incentivised instead, they say, it could support more jobs, boost nature and halt the sector’s decline.

On May 21st, we were joined by a delegation of small-scale fishers from Spain, Italy, Denmark and Croatia to deliver the letter to Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius’s team in Brussels. At the delivery, the small-scale fishers emphasised that allocating fishing opportunities based on social and environmental criteria, rather than catch volume and history, would help level what is currently a “distorted sea”, favouring large-scale, high-impact interests. Transparency in allocating fishing quotas, a public resource, is also needed. Such measures are already set out in the Common Fisheries Policy but are not well-implemented.

For the next steps, we are working to raise awareness and build support for the #MakeFishingFair campaign in preparation to increase pressure on the new commissioner to ensure fair fisheries is a key part of their mandate.