Scientists sign open letter denouncing EU ambitions to reintroduce ‘harmful’ subsidies which are directly linked to destroying nature at sea.

Scientists from across the EU countries sound the alarm as the European Commission, Council and Parliament decide how to spend the next European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). Between 2021 and 2027, around seven billion euros of public money will be injected into the ocean economy. However, countless studies and reports show that the vast majority of the fund is used to encourage overfishing and fuel the demise of nature at sea.

The decision on how to spend the EMFF will impact the EU’s position in negotiating a global agreement to end harmful fisheries subsidies at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). If the EU does not remove harmful subsidies from the EMFF, an agreement at WTO aligning with the SDGs will not be achieved.

Bruna Campos, Senior Marine Policy Officer, BirdLife Europe says:
For too long, public money has been used to push nature at sea to the brink. The science is loud and clear, we cannot continue doing this. The rest of the world is ready to step away from the practice of subsidising devastating actions at sea, and for a while, the EU was at the forefront of this vision. By even considering to continue this subsidy model at home, EU leaders are not only taking two steps back, but are effectively declaring that they do not have an interest in protecting the ocean that serves us all.

You can read the full letter online.

Photo by Ian Sherlock, Wikimedia commons.