EU Parliament support clearer rules for sustainable high seas fish stock management

Strasbourg, 15 September 2026

MEPs adopted measures to improve fisheries sustainability, make internationally agreed rules clearer and easier for fishers to understand and ensure a level playing field with non-EU fleets.

On Tuesday 15 September, the plenary approved the interinstitutional agreement to implement into the EU law conservation and control measures recommended between 2018 and 2014 by six regional fisheries management organisations (RFMOs).

The text refers to the need to ensure that future recommendations “are timely and fully implemented” in EU law so all international obligations are fulfilled. In the future, the measures decided by RFMOs should be implemented annually, to avoid delays in applying internationally agreed rules, or implemented per RFMO, as in the case of the latest General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean transposition exercise, to prevent unnecessary political blocking of all measures from different RFMOs.

These rules aim at reducing the impact of fisheries on marine ecosystems and non-targeted endangered species, such as shark whales, mobulid rays and sea turtles, among others. For example, it bans keeping on board, transhipping or landing shark whales caught in association with the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), as well as species of reef manta ray, giant manta, and devil fish. Among other aspects, the updated legislation refers the duties of EU countries whose boats use gillnets in the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO) convention area and closures for cod in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO) area. In addition, the update by the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission Convention area (IATTC) concerns EU purse seine vessels operating in those waters, while the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention (WCPFC) amends rules regarding the protection of sharks and cetaceans, and the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) revises rules on drifting and anchored fish aggregating devices.

The agreement was adopted by 559 votes in favour to 48 against and 62 abstentions.

Quote

Before the vote, rapporteur Thomas Bajada (S&D, MT) said:

“Regional fisheries management organisations are the backbone of the international management of shared fish stocks, the protection of marine ecosystems, and the setting of common rules for EU and non-EU fleets. But those rules are only as credible as their enforcement. European fishers must be able to trust that every vessel is held to the same standards.

“This legislation must go hand in hand with stronger diplomatic and technical cooperation with our international partners, backed by investment in modern, effective monitoring tools. Fair competition depends on our ability to identify breaches by any vessel, including those flagged by non-EU countries, and act on them consistently within the framework of RFMOs.

“The rules must also be clear to the people expected to follow them. Fishers should be able to understand their obligations without needing a lawyer to interpret them. This was my main aim as Rapporteur for this regulation.

“Our fishers must not be left to navigate these responsibilities alone in the middle of the Ocean, or encounter the European Union only when sanctions are imposed. They deserve a Europe that listens, defends them, and acts strongly against unfair competition. Defending our fishers and protecting our ocean are responsibilities we must deliver on together, internationally”, the rapporteur Thomas Bajada (S&D, MT) said.

Background

The EU is a contracting party of 18 RFMOS, international bodies composed by countries with interest in managing conservation and commercial fishing in high seas. Its decisions are binding to their members. Only members have access to the fisheries resources in those international waters.

Further information

Source – EU Parliament