This week members of the European Parliament (MEPs) will take part in a vote that will prove crucial to the future of our seas, and the communities who depend on them.
This vote is to amend the Fisheries Control Regulation, the EU’s system for monitoring, inspection, and enforcement of fishing in EU waters and the EU fishing fleet’s global operations. The Control Regulation is key to enabling fishers, decision-makers, and civil society to count the fish taken from our seas, and to monitor the impact of fishing activities on fragile marine ecosystems.
Any changes to this regulation should improve the sustainability and long-term prospects for our ocean and for fishers. However, if MEPs vote to accept all of the revisions currently proposed by the European Parliament Committee on Fisheries (PECH), they could be endorsing a backward step for EU fisheries policy.