The report[1] in question originates from a working group (WG) acting under the facilities of the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF), which gathers national experts and cannot be considered as endorsed by the STECF. A disclaimer states that ‘this report does not necessarily reflect the view of the STECF and the European Commission and in no way anticipates the Commission’s future policy in this area’. Such a report has to undergo the scientific peer-review process conducted by STECF, which then leads to the actual STECF opinion[2].

STECF reviewed the WG report’s conclusions and validated certain but not all figures provided by the national experts.

STECF presented figures on the loss of fishing days (-16%) and landings (-20%) as a total for the fleets of Germany, Ireland, Spain and France but stated that ‘the reduction in effort and landings cannot be considered as a final outcome of the analysis’, as they can result from ‘other effects that could have an effect on the socioeconomic impact of the closures (e.g. fleet size, costs, markets or fishing opportunities).’

The statement ‘any long-term solution will need to safeguard vulnerable ecosystems and the communities that have sustainably fished these waters’ comes from the WG’s report and has not been validated by STECF.

The STECF opinion remains inconclusive on the quantification of the socioeconomic impacts of the vulnerable marine ecosystem closures on the fleets at local level. More work is therefore necessary to quantify these impacts and the Commission is reflecting on the best way forward.

Last updated: 1 July 2025