Vision 2040 for fishing. Rescue strategy or soft extinction of the sector?

The European Commission launched on 24 February a consultation on "Vision 2040" – a long-term strategy for fisheries and aquaculture. The document is intended to guide the development of the sector for the next 15 years and respond to its structural problems.

Fishing in the EU until 2040. Rebuilding or reduction?

Brussels does not hide that the situation is serious. Fleets in many countries are ageing, there are no successors, operating costs are increasing and the pressure to rebuild fish stocks remains high. In addition, there is a dependence on fossil fuels and increasing competition with imports from outside the EU.

Vision 2040 is to cover the entire fishing sector – from fishing and aquaculture for processing. The Commission announces that the strategy will cover both water-based food supply and demand, infrastructure and financing. In practice, this means trying to define whether the Union wants to maintain a strong, own fishing sector or to accept its further reduction.

For Poland and the Baltic States it is a particularly important issue. The region already operates under restricted catch limits and the continuing poor condition of part of the Baltic fish population. Any new regulation may determine whether the coastal fleets will be modernised or shrink further under regulatory and economic pressure.

Will fisheries remain a fundamental sector?

The consultation will continue until March 24. This is where the industry can still influence the direction of change. However, if the strategy focuses mainly on tightening environmental requirements without real investment support, Vision 2040 can become a document ordering the part extinction process European fishing fleets.

This is not about what fisheries will look like in 2040. It is crucial that, after years of regulatory pressure and systematic reduction of fishing, this sector retains its importance for Member States at all.