Press release

Mediterranean small-scale, low-impact fishers “barely breathing” as EU law designed to restore fish stocks is ignored

26 February 2026

With the European Ocean Days approaching, small-scale fishers warn that the Mediterranean — one of the EUs most overfished seas — is reaching a breaking point, putting the future of their sector at risk.

As the Commission considers reopening crucial fisheries rules, ClientEarth, Oceana, Seas At Risk, and the Low Impact Fishers of Europe (LIFE) have released a powerful  video (1) featuring small-scale fishers from France, Spain, and Cyprus. The audiovisual material, produced by the Med Sea Alliance in collaboration with NGOs and LIFE, makes one thing clear: the crisis hitting Mediterranean small-scale fisheries is not caused by the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), but by years of weak enforcement and inconsistent implementation by national governments.

In Cyprus, Panayiotis Peratikos, who started fishing with his father when he was eight years old, says coastal fishers are “barely breathing,” deploying four to five times more net to make the same income. A similar situation can be seen in France, where Baptiste Canville, a fisher with over 20 years’ experience, describes a “clear decline in the resource as a whole,” driven by pollution, climate change and fishing pressure. He explains how red mullet fishing has shifted from three people using 500 metres of net to a single fisher deploying up to two km - resource scarcity is therefore forcing fishers to increase efforts to catch the same amount of fish and secure an adequate income. 

The organisations urge the European Commission to take the advice of small-scale fishers - which make up 76 percent of Europe’s fishing fleet - into account in the ongoing evaluation of the CFP, and to prioritise the full enforcement of the existing regulation before considering any reform. The CFP already provides the tools needed to restore fish populations and protect coastal communities. NGOs warned that opening the rules now would send a dangerous message that the EU is stepping back from its commitments and hand momentum to those pushing for weaker rules.

In a situation where many fish populations remain at low levels, small-scale, low-impact fishers also face unfair quota distribution that heavily favours industrial fleets. “Economic models don’t fit small-scale fisheries, they are designed for industrial ones, which then get more support, more negotiation power, more influence. It’s not fair,” said Macarena Molina, a fisherwoman from Spain. According to the EU law on fisheries, quotas should also be allocated based on social and environmental criteria (2)- but in practice, these criteria remain largely ignored. Proper use of these rules could deliver significant benefits for both coastal communities and the marine environment.

Fishers interviewed broadly support Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and acknowledge their major benefits. However, they say MPAs are failing in practice due to a lack of fishers’ engagement, implementation and enforcement. Luis Rodríguez, a small-scale, low-impact fisherman from Spain said: “If you protect an area and don't monitor it, what you're really protecting are the rule-breakers.” Policy-makers should be bolder in truly protecting MPAs and preserve marine life to support both ocean ecosystems and the coastal communities that depend on them. 

In a report (3) shared with decision-makers, the group stresses how the challenges raised by small-scale, low-impact fishers could be addressed by properly implementing the CFP, adopted in 2013 and currently under evaluation.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1- Link to the long and short video: Perspectives of Small-Scale Fishers in the Mediterranean Link to the report: Voices from the Mediterranean

2- Article 17 of the Common Fisheries’ Policy foresees the allocation of fishing quotas according to environmental, social and economic criteria. Seas At Risk together with other NGOs published the following report: Allocating fishing opportunities with environmental, social, and economic criteria in mind 

3 - Report: Don't sink the Common Fisheries Policy - fulfil its potential 

What is the CFP?

The Common Fisheries Policy is the EU’s legal framework for managing fisheries within EU waters and for EU vessels operating across the world. It sets management objectives and a set of rules designed to ensure that fishing activities contribute to long-term environmental, social and economic sustainability, including maintaining fish populations above healthy levels and ensuring a fair standard of living for the fisheries sector. The CFP also includes monitoring, control, and enforcement obligations.

Why is the CFP fit for purpose?

When fully applied, the CFP delivers healthy fish populations, resilient marine ecosystems, and long-term economic stability for coastal communities. It embeds science into decision-making and requires a balance between environmental, social, and economic objectives. Where implementation has been consistent, overfishing has declined and stock recovery has followed — particularly in the North-East Atlantic.

The European Commission reported on the functioning of the CFP in 2023 concluding that it “provides the stability needed by the fisheries sector” and “tangible progress towards more sustainable fisheries on the ground” (COM (2023) 103). It emphasised that “[t]hese improvements in terms of environmental sustainability, together with increased predictability thanks to a stable legislative framework, have led to improved economic performance since 2013”.

However, progress remains uneven and closely linked to how seriously Member States enforce the rules.

About ClientEarth

ClientEarth is a non-profit organisation that uses the law to create systemic change that protects the Earth for – and with – its inhabitants. We are tackling climate change, protecting nature and stopping pollution, with partners and citizens around the globe. We hold industry and governments to account and defend everyone’s right to a healthy world. ClientEarth teams in Europe, Asia and the USA work to shape, implement and enforce the law, to build a future for our planet in which people and nature can thrive together.