Four European NGOs have called on the European Commission to end tax exemptions and subsidies for use of fossil fuels in the fishing industry.
A joint letter to Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth Wopke Hoekstra and Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans Costas Kadis says such subsidies “foster over-capacity of fishing fleets and the overexploitation of fish populations”.
“More polluting industrial fleets benefit the most from indirect fuel subsidies, while fishing and financing opportunities in Europe remain concentrated among wealthier owners of industrial, high-impact fishing vessels,” the four NGOs, ClientEarth, BLOOM, Oceana and Seas at Risk say in their joint open letter.
“In 2021, only in France, fuel tax exemptions accounted for €206 million representing 63% of total estimated subsidies,”they state.
“From a competitiveness perspective, we cannot afford for this market distortion to further support an economically inefficient fleet, which depletes fish stocks at the expense of small-scale fisheries and coastal communities,”the NGOS state.
“Reliance on fossil fuel subsidies hinders the emergence of sustainable energy alternatives, which will leave the EU perpetually reliant on fossil fuels, most of which are imported,”they state.
“Low-impact, artisanal fisheries create more jobs and generate greater value per liter of fuel, all while causing less environmental harm compared to industrial, high-impact fishing,”the letter says.
“ Despite this, small-scale coastal and artisanal fishers have been the least recipients of fishing opportunities and financial support for decades, undermining the resilience of European fishing communities,”it says.
“ Eliminating fossil fuel subsidies and ensuring fair fishing opportunities to low-impact fishers under Article 17 of the Common Fisheries Policy is therefore crucial for paving the way to fair and sustainable fisheries in EU waters and beyond,”they state.
A recent report published by Swedish RISE institute on behalf of ClientEarth, entitled Capacity Ceilings in EU Fisheries: Obstacle or Opportunity for the Decarbonisation Process? challenges the perception that vessel weight and power limits under the EU's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) are hindering the transition to cleaner, more energy-efficient technologies.
“Instead, the findings show that these capacity ceilings are not a barrier to the energy transition and can align with decarbonisation efforts, making a revision of the CFP’s capacity ceilings provision not necessary,” ClientEarth says.
