Seas At Risk

🌊 Congratulations to Costas Kadis, the new EU Commissioner for Fisheries & Oceans! 🐟 🎉 We look forward to working together to protect the ocean from destructive fishing practices and ensure thriving marine ecosystems for future generations! Read our NGOs' #BlueManifesto 👉 https://lnkd.in/daZX93FD #MarineProtectedAreas #RethinkFisheries #OceanPact

#BottomTrawling is bulldozing the ocean floor, including in our precious #MarineProtectedAreas! 🐟 ✍ Sign the petition to #BanBottomTrawling starting in #MarineProtectedAreas in the EU! 👉 https://lnkd.in/e-qrA5Vb Patagonia WeMove Europe

🐋 Our #BlueManifesto 3-point plan paves the way for ocean recovery by 2030. There's still time to change and be part of the solution ! 👉 https://lnkd.in/daZX93FD

📢 50 European Parliamentarians. 1 clear message for Norway: NO deep-sea mining in the Arctic.   Norway is moving forward with hopes of mining in the Arctic, speeding ahead with plans to award licences for 106,000 km2 of the deep sea as soon as 2025!   The MEPs are calling on Norway to stop pushing forward with the irresponsible and ecologically destructive industry and we couldn't agree more.   🇳🇴 Norway, it's time to join the 32 countries (and counting) and join the #moratorium.   #DefendTheDeep #StopDeepSeaMining ✉ Read the MEP letter here: https://lnkd.in/g5nrPA3y

🌊 **Protecting Our Seas: Sandeels at the Heart of Marine Recovery** Seas At Risk, joined 34 UK and EU organizations in urging the EU Commission to reconsider its challenge to the UK’s closure of industrial sandeel fishing. The science is clear: this critical measure is key to rebuilding the health of our oceans and safeguarding marine biodiversity. Sandeels are vital to the food chain, supporting seabirds like Puffins and Kittiwakes, marine mammals, and key fish species. With seabird populations in dramatic decline—23% for Puffins and 43% for Kittiwakes—this ban is a lifeline for vulnerable species and struggling ecosystems. This moment also serves as the first litmus test for Commissioner-designate Costas Kadis: will he lead decisively on ocean recovery or bow to industrial pressure? The EU’s opposition undermines both the UK’s leadership in marine conservation and the EU’s own environmental commitments. It’s time for the EU to step up and prioritize the long-term health of our shared seas over short-term industrial gains. Together, we call on the UK to stand firm and the EU to act decisively for ocean recovery. Let’s protect the lifeblood of our marine ecosystems. 🌍 #MarineConservation #EcosystemRecovery #SustainableOceans #Biodiversity 

📢 New German legal action begins over lack of marine ecosystem protection! 🦀🐟 The NGO BUND, supported by Seas At Risk and other marine NGOs, sues the German government for failing to protect the #Doggerbank #MarineProtectedArea from destructive #BottomTrawling.  Bottom trawling threatens marine biodiversity despite EU laws and global commitments.  Protected must mean protected. 🌊 👉 https://lnkd.in/eTsTvVp2

The hearing is over, the votes are counted, and we now know that Costas Kadis will be the new European Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans until 2029. Commissioner-elect Kadis clearly knows his brief, and gave some indications that he is serious about addressing some of the big problems the ocean faces. One example is article 17 of the Common Fisheries Policy, with the Commissioner-elect expressing his readiness to take bold action to set fishing quotas with social and environmental criteria in mind. The idea of fair and eco-friendly fishing allocations is not just a theoretical concept; it’s a practical solution we can build on right now. Find out more in our recent report: https://lnkd.in/dhpK5cVs. However, this is not just about numbers and quotas — it’s about protecting the ocean. The Commissioner-elect stayed close to this new Commission’s toplines — productivity, competitiveness, internal market — but his job title includes an important word that played second fiddle to ‘fisheries’. That word is ‘oceans’, and it needs more than lip service. People and the planet are depending on the EU to not just serve industry interests, but to protect marine ecosystems from the continued harm caused by human activities. The biggest opportunity to nurse the ocean back to health is the upcoming EU Ocean Pact. Questions from MEPs including Christophe Clergeau and Thomas Bajada urged the Commissioner-elect to elaborate beyond hollow words such as ‘framework’ and ‘policy coherence’. He dismissed the idea of new legislation, instead stating that the Pact will improve the implementation of existing policies. But that is not enough. We need concrete action and binding measures to deliver nature-positive outcomes. The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) must be fully realised, with a clear emphasis on improving their environmental effectiveness and ensuring they support the recovery of marine biodiversity. We also need new legislation on a range of areas, from trade of aquatic food, to effective management of marine protected areas, and unintentional microplastics pollution. We recently joined forces with five other ‘blue’ NGOs to prepare the ‘Blue Manifesto’, a roadmap to a healthy ocean in 2030, and this should form the backbone of any Ocean Pact, Deal or Framework coming from the Commission: https://lnkd.in/daZX93FD. This is a defining moment. The triple crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution is real, and it requires urgent action. We can no longer afford to prioritise short-term economic gains over the long-term health of the ocean. The question is: will Commissioner-elect Kadis and others in power take bold steps to implement policies that align with the science and put the health of the ocean, people and the planet first?

🗓️ Next year is the year that the International Maritime Organization (IMO) will have to agree on the path it will take to fully decarbonise by 2050 - a pivotal step for the maritime sector. To reach this goal, we must all adopt a unified, three-pronged approach:   🚢 An ambitious polluters pay levy to ensure no country is left behind,  🌬️ a robust global fuel standard to incentivise the uptake of zero emission fuels and propellant such as wind propulsion,   🌊 and an enhanced energy efficiency requirements on vessels. The journey to decarbonisation is already underway, and will continue, regardless of shifts in political landscapes. There is already a clear majority of support for a carbon levy and global fuel standard, so the IMO has no reason not to move forward and adopt these measures.

The core of the problem with depleted fish populations: Cormorants! Maybe the wolves could hunt them - and drown once the belly is full? Two birds one stone? Poor cormorants just got blamed, again, in Ocean Commissioner designate Costas Kadis hearing in the European Parliament. Oh my gosh...

✨Wish list✨ for European Parliament hearing of Jessika Roswall: 1️⃣ Put the ocean at the heart of decision-making 🌊   2️⃣ Collaborate w/ other Commissioners so that the #OceanPact achieves healthy seas, protects #biodiversity & supports people 🫂 What's on your wish list? Let us know 👇