OCEAN2012 (original) (raw)
The OCEAN2012 coalition was created in 2009 to support a fundamental reform of the European Union’s Common Fisheries Policy, or CFP. It was launched by The Pew Charitable Trusts, the Coalition for Fair Fisheries Arrangements, the Fisheries Secretariat, the new economics foundation and Seas At Risk, which were later joined on its Steering Group by Ecologistas en Acción.
Within five years, the coalition grew to 193 member groups in 24 EU member states and beyond. The coalition included fishermen’s organisations, leading marine scientists, development agencies, environmental non-governmental organisations, aquaria, consumer and development organisations, restaurants, and groups that shared an interest in sustainable fisheries.
Thanks to them, OCEAN2012 was able to muster considerable support for a fundamental CFP reform. In May 2013, with a groundswell of public support, European legislators took a huge step towards ending overfishing by agreeing that most EU fish stocks would be fished sustainably by 2015 and all stocks by 2020. That December, the European Parliament adopted the agreement, and it came into force on 1 January 2014.
On 28 January 2014, a political deal was reached among the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Greek EU Presidency, on behalf of the European Council, on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, or EMFF, the EU fisheries subsidies regime designed to support implementation of the CFP. The EMFF agreement included allocating greater funding for improved data collection, control, and enforcement.
After several years of concerted campaigning to achieve its goals, OCEAN2012 has wound up its work. However, the battle against overfishing is far from over. Now that the CFP has been reformed, it must be implemented effectively.
To find the 193 organisations that made up OCEAN2012 and continue to advocate for sustainable fisheries, go to the About Us page.
To find out more about Pew’s new campaign on CFP implementation in the waters of north-western Europe, click here.