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The study commissioned by Seas At Risk, Sciaena, Ecologistas en Accion and BUND, shows how the current political economy of fisheries in the European Union favours large scale industrial fisheries to the detriment of small-scale and low-impact fisheries. Small-scale fishers are key players for coastal communities, as they create jobs and are often much more sustainable compared to their larger counterparts.  This sustainability role is critical since fishing is the first driver of marine biodiversity loss. Favouring industrial fisheries rather than small scale and low-impact fisheries is not due to flaws in the current legislation but, rather, to a lack of full implementation of the Common Fisheries Policy which already offers a series of tools to tackle the root problems. NGOs call for a full implementation and enforcement of the Common Fisheries Policy. 

Independent journalist Francesco De Augustinis explores the impact of the Area of Industrial Development of Aquaculture planned for Aetolia-Akarnania in Western Greece, where fish cages will occupy 100 hectares and another 100 hectares will be used for other activities. Inhabitants of the islands and villages protest against the fish farms and any further expansion project. In the past ten years they have watched their sea become contaminated and poor in natural resources. The industrial fisheries at Western Greece have also had an impact on Posidonia meadows, which is now absent or very deteriorated.

Revealed: an investigation shows how consumers buying fish in the UK are playing a role in food insecurity and unemployment in Senegal

Overabundance of fish farms is a risk to both the marine environment and the economy. By Christos Logaras