Fishermen, the Commission, and EU Member States must work together to protect sensitive species and tackle invasive ones, say MEPs, urging joint action. The goal is to contain the spread of alien species and reduce their impact on fisheries, aquaculture, and the EU’s marine environment.
MEPs emphasize the need to establish regional, species-specific monitoring systems, including coordinated early warning and rapid response strategies against alien species. In particular, they call on the Commission and Member States to allocate more resources and take urgent measures to stop the spread of invasive species in the Mediterranean Sea, which is warming 20% faster than the rest of the world and hosts more invasive alien species than any other sea.
It is also necessary to further develop the European Alien Species Information Network, providing distribution data, especially those collected by fishermen and aquaculture operators. Member States and the Commission should also inform and engage fishermen about the environmental and economic impacts of invasive species and strategies to reduce related risks.
The Parliament further calls for an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management, aiming to protect 30% of EU seas by 2030, and highlights the importance of science-based management plans for marine protected areas.
“Fishermen must be an integral part of the solution,” the MEPs stressed, with particular attention to small-scale fishers, who should be represented on advisory bodies. To support them, they call for effective compensation schemes for those who lose access to traditional fishing grounds, adaptation funds, and financial and regulatory incentives to encourage local targeted removal of invasive species.
The resolution was adopted with 528 votes in favor, 21 against, and 62 abstentions.