Sustainable Reform of European Union (EU): Common Fisheries Policy

Context: Oceans are encountering great loss of biodiversity. Global overfishing and overconsumption of aquatic foods prompted the European Union to create the Common Fishery Policy (CFP) with the intention of supporting sustainability of the environment, economy, and society, and to protect the long-term supply of aquatic foods. The Mediterranean Sea is a vulnerable European region due to fishing at unsustainable levels. Factors exacerbating the situation in this region include socio-economic conditions, weakregulatory power of the EU, poor communication and low levels of consensus among stakeholders. Policy Options: Three policy options are highlighted: 1) Fish-restricted areas (FRA) in eight Mediterranean regions to maintain or reverse fish collapse, as a means to recover fish stocks in regions with higher exploitation rates: 2) Supporting and improving small-scale fisheries (SSF) to reduce the impact on marine wildlife and increase selectivity, including standard gear and size restrictions,as well asstrict seasonal closures; 3) Integration of Participatory Action Research (PAR) to improve stakeholder compliance with the landing obligation. Recommendations: Policy options were assessed by four evaluation criteria (economic feasibility, effectiveness, political feasibility, and equity). Integrating the PAR into the CFP was deemed to be the best option of those examined. A positive impact on the economy, political feasibility, and equity for stakeholders would be expected outcomes of implementation of this alternative. Regular evaluation and continuous improvement would increase the likelihood of policy success.