Despite some progress, the state of European fisheries remains precarious. In the Northeast Atlantic, nearly 40% of monitored fish stocks have been overfished in the past decade, while in the Mediterranean, 58% of stocks are still overfished — unsustainable for healthy fisheries. Sandeel and cod, among the most overfished species, are heavily targeted by bottom trawling, which devastates biodiversity, diminishes fish size, and reduces prey availability. Sandeel, often diverted to aquaculture feed rather than human consumption, epitomizes this inefficiency.
Fully protected MPAs, by contrast, boost fish biomass by orders of magnitude. Banning bottom trawling not only safeguards marine ecosystems but strengthens European self-sufficiency, ensuring long-term viability by promoting low-impact, small-scale fishers to secure the future of European fisheries.
