The webinar will take place on 23 March 2022, from
09:00 to 11:00 (NEW TIME)
Up to 10 million Europeans go fishing recreationally at sea every year, generating an annual
total economic impact of 10.5 billion euro and supporting 100,000 jobs in Europe. Angling provides many social and health benefits and income diversification for Europe’s coastal and remote communities. It also increases the knowledge of the marine environment and the commitment to protect it. As a selective fishing activity, it can contribute to achieve the objectives of the
Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).
Despite all this, the CFP does not consider it as a distinct sector, alongside aquaculture and commercial fisheries. At the same time however, the sector has been increasingly regulated through various EU policy instruments with a patchwork approach. At the EU level, the sector is thus mainly seen through a control and management prism, leaving aside its economic and social sustainability and development perspectives.
The European Anglers Alliance and the European Fishing Tackle Trade Association have been calling for the full inclusion of the recreational fisheries sector in the CFP. This would allow for the further exploitation of the untapped potential for a more sustainable blue economy and bring benefits for the coastal and remote communities. It would also mean exploiting its beneficial environmental, social and economic impact and improving data collection, management and control.
In 2018, the European Parliament
called on the European Commission to “evaluate the role of recreational fisheries in the future CFP.” In the context of the PECH Committee’s work on an own-initiative report on the state of play in the implementation of the CFP and future perspectives, the RecFishing Forum event would provide a unique space for dialogue. The EAA and EFTTA will present in more details their call for the inclusion of recreational fisheries in the CFP. The discussion will tackle both the benefits of making the marine recreational fisheries a distinct sector in the CFP as well as the potential concerns or obstacles to it. Representatives from the angling community will be in attendance to answer the questions Members of the European Parliament may have and have an open discussion on this matter.