Speaking at the ‘Fishers of the Future’ conference on Tuesday 14 January, the European Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans, Costas Kadis, said that a number of “elements” would serve as a basis for “ the preparation of our vision for the fisheries sector with a 2040 perspective, helping European coastal communities address their specific challenges”.
In 2025, the Commission plans to adopt the ‘European Oceans Pact’ (coherence across all policy areas linked to the ocean (see EUROPE 13519/2), the Commissioner pointed out. He also spoke of a future European research and innovation strategy for the oceans. Finally, the Commission will publish the results of the ongoing evaluation of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).
Mr Kadis also discussed the social dimension of fisheries, in particular occupational health and safety, labour and skills shortages, the prominent gender gap regarding wages, the ageing of the workforce and the need for generational renewal (see EUROPE 13552/8).
The Chair of the EU’s Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for Fisheries, Cor Blonk, called for “urgent and coordinated action by political decision-makers to secure the future of the fleet, with a strong emphasis on the social dimension, in order to support a prosperous and resilient fisheries sector capable of providing secure and quality jobs”.
Link to Commissioner Kadis’ speech: https://aeur.eu/f/f1i (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)