Issues at stake

The European Commission envisages a long-term overarching policy framework for the fisheries and aquaculture sectors. The purpose of its 'Vision 2040' is to establish a 15-year strategy to address the sector's main structural challenges such as changes in the natural environment, the pressing need to fish sustainably, an ageing workforce, unpredictable consumer demand, the need for fleet modernisation, energy transition, and geopolitical uncertainty.

Its 'Vision 2040' will be based on four interconnected focal points:

Development

The 'Vision 2040 for fisheries and aquaculture' was announced in the 2026 Commission work programme as a non-legislative initiative under the 'Sustaining our quality of life: food security, water and nature' heading. The preparation of 'Vision 2040' is also one of the tasks referred to the Commissioner for fisheries and oceans in the mission letter prepared by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The European Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans, Costas Kadis, presented the four 'Vision 2040' focal points at the European Ocean Days 2026 in March 2026, which also hosted a panel on the subject. It was one of the topics discussed at the European Maritime Days in May 2026 and is mentioned in the Commission communication 'Sustainable fishing in the EU: state of play and orientations for 2027', published in June 2026. The paper is expected in autumn 2026.

Main points

The upcoming 'Vision 2040 for fisheries and aquaculture' is likely to consider the question of what the EU's fisheries and aquaculture sectors should look like in 2040 and what needs to be done now to make that future possible. It is meant to address the sector's structural challenges across the entire value chain, covering fisheries, aquaculture and aquatic food processing.

In this endeavour, 'Vision 2040' will draw on conclusions and commitments made in recent landmark papers:

Stakeholders' views collected in the Commission's call for evidence in March 2026 will also feed into the paper.

Stakeholders' and Member States' positions

The European Commission's call for evidence, carried out in March 2026, gathered a broad range of positions from interested parties, ranging from industry representatives, environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and research institutes to Member States' authorities.¹

A group of stakeholders, co-led by the fishing organisation Low Impact Fishers of Europe and the environmental NGO Seas At Risk, put forward its own vision for the EU fisheries sector. Under the title 'Rethinking fisheries' the group calls for a profound transformation of European fisheries, shifting away from an extractive, industrial system to a regenerative and equitable model, that conserves biodiversity, restores ecosystem functions, upholds social justice, and ensures that marine space and resources are shared fairly. According to the stakeholders, the most pressing issues of overfishing, climate change, pollution and growing inequalities at the expense of small-scale fishing communities need to be tackled in a holistic way. The paper envisages a 'new culture of seafood', and suggests a number of measures for the vision to become reality, including a stronger focus on bottom-up approaches, adequate financing, technical innovations, novel organisational structures, innovative business models and diversification of fisheries activities.

Europêche, the Association of National Organisations of Fishing Enterprises in the European Union, questions the very need for a new vision and calls for immediate action instead. The organisation points to the sector's challenges, such as falling revenues, shrinking employment, and continuous reduction in fleet size. It also highlights the EU's increasing dependency on imports. Europêche calls for the development of an omnibus fisheries proposal to address, for instance, inconsistencies across different pieces of legislation, reduce the administrative burden, and correct the unintended consequences of legislation. According to the association, the Commission should decisively address environmental degradation, including pollution, eutrophication and climate change, instead of focusing disproportionately on fisheries. It also calls to reconsider the position of fisheries within the increasing competition for maritime space, and a policy framework that creates a level playing field for fishermen at international level.

The Federation of European Aquaculture Producers (FEAP) welcomes a long-term strategic vision for the fisheries and aquaculture sector in principle, provided that it is based on concrete goals, clear direction, and performance indicators. According to the organisation, the current stagnation of the EU aquaculture sector results from the numerous challenges businesses face, including limited space availability and an unsuitable legal framework with disproportionate weight given to environmental legislation in some Member States. FEAP highlights that fish farming has one of the lowest carbon footprints among food production systems and stresses the sector's importance for EU food sovereignty. The paper calls on the European Commission to acknowledge the strategic value of fish farming for the EU's food self-sufficiency and stresses the need for a dedicated common EU aquaculture policy as well as predictable, scaled, sector-specific structural funding.

Client Earth, a global environmental law organisation, considers the 'Vision 2040 for fisheries and aquaculture' a chance for the Commission to provide a coherent policy for a better future for fishing and coastal communities, while ensuring a resilient and sovereign Europe. For the NGO, the protection of marine waters and the safeguarding of Europe's own fish populations, including in the context of climate protection, is the very foundation of this future policy. According to Client Earth the deplorable conditions of Europe's seas and the poor status of many fish populations endangers both the autonomy of European food supply and the livelihood of coastal communities. In this context, the organisation underlines the importance of policy coherence both at EU and Member State level, as well as adequate financial support strictly aligned with policy objectives.

The Spanish Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food welcomes the development of the 'Vision 2040 for fisheries and aquaculture' as an opportunity to develop a long-term fisheries and aquaculture policy. In view of current and upcoming challenges, the authority suggests building 'Vision 2040' around four main axes: regulatory simplification; strengthening scientific knowledge; a holistic approach to sustainability, integrating the environmental, economic and social dimensions; and a stronger focus on the human factor, in particular by improving fishery working conditions. Moreover, the Ministry calls for a specific policy approach for aquaculture, given the sector's role in strengthening food sovereignty. At international level, the Ministry highlights the need to ensure a level playing field vis-à-vis third countries and underlines the necessity of adequate and explicit funding in the next multiannual financial framework.

The association of European Fisheries and Aquaculture Research Organisations (EFARO), representing the main European research institutes involved in fisheries and aquaculture research, highlights the importance of securing financial and administrative resources for the provision of scientific data. Since the EU's CFP relies on knowledge-based decision making, the association calls for a 'Vision 2040' that ensures the information, data and work force are available for the management, conservation and restoration of marine living resources. While highlighting the work of international and national research organisations, the association warns against scaling down national activities as a result of reduced EU funding shares. According to EFARO, many different financing programmes and large room for manoeuvre for Member States regarding national resource allocation would result in fragmentation of resources and hamper the realisation of the goals enshrined in the CFP.

European Parliament views

Parliament set out its overall vision on the CFP in a January 2024 resolution, in which it emphasised the need for the continued implementation of the CFP, but also regretted that socio-economic aspects had not been given sufficient consideration. With regard to a potential new reform, Parliament called for certain changes to be considered. On the landing obligation, for example, Parliament stated that it should be reviewed, notably to address the issue of 'choke species' (i.e. species for which, once the quota is reached, fishing may need to be stopped altogether to avoid the risk of by-catch while targeting other species). Parliament also considers the current fleet capacity ceilings to be an obstacle to the energy transition. Parliament also reiterated its view on the need for a broader definition of small-scale fisheries beyond just vessel length.

Moreover, Parliament has expressed its opinion on numerous aspects related to the future development of the CFP: for instance in a 2024 resolution on decarbonisation and fleet modernisation, and a 2026 resolution on 'Fisheries management approaches for safeguarding sensitive species, tackling invasive species and benefiting local economies'. Members are currently working on two more texts: a resolution entitled 'Strengthening the resilience of the EU fisheries sector in dealing with major marine incidents and hazards' and a resolution focusing on 'The role of social, economic and environmental standards in safeguarding fair competition for all aquatic food products and improving food security'.