The European Commission presented new measures to regulate fishing for deep-sea species and their habitats in the North-East Atlantic. Among the measures, the Commission proposes a reinforced licensing system and a gradual phase-out of those fishing gears that specifically target deep sea species in a less sustainable manner.

Deep sea ecosystems and the species that live in them in the North-East Atlantic are particularly vulnerable to human activities. For this reason, the European Commission proposed a set of measures aimed at ensuring that deep-sea species are fished sustainably, that unwanted by-catches decrease, that the impact on fragile deep-sea habitats decreases and that there is more data on the biology of these species. Recently, MEPs agreed that common fisheries policy reform must make fisheries sustainable.

In order to achieve those objectives, the Commission proposed a reinforced licensing system and a gradual phase-out of those fishing gears that specifically target deep sea species in a less sustainable manner, namely bottom trawls and bottom-set gillnets. The Commission also envisages specific requirements for the collection of data from deep sea fishing activities. The necessary adjustments to implement these measures may benefit from financial support under EU Funds.

In addition to this, the Commission has decided to finance a study on this topic, in cooperation with companies involved in deep-sea activities to find ways to test less harmful fishing gear and switch to fishing techniques and strategies that have less impact on those fragile ecosystems.