MEP Niclas Herbst will chair the conference "Recreational fisheries in the EU: state of play, governance, perspectives" organised by the European Parliament Forum on Recreational Fisheries and Aquatic Environment, with the support of the European Anglers Alliance (EAA) and the European Fishing Tackle Trade Association (EFTTA). 

The conference will take place on the 19th of February from 08:00 to 09:30 in the European Parliament (Room JAN 6Q1). Breakfast will be offered.

Recreational fisheries are not considered as a distinct sector by the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) but are increasingly regulated at EU level through a series of legislative acts such as the multiannual management plans, the Control Regulation, the Data Collection Framework and bag limits for key species like seabass and cod. The rationale for these inclusions is limited to stock management only, with a focus on commercially important stocks or stocks at risk, while the economic and social sustainability of the sector is not taken into account. On top of this, the pending revision of the fisheries control regulation includes provisions to increase the monitoring and control of recreational.

The conference will be an occasion to highlight the socio-economic and environmental importance of the sector. Furthermore, the governance of recreational fisheries and the sector’s inclusion in EU policies and legislation, most notably the CFP, will be debated. The objective of this meeting is to identify opportunities and barriers that may assist or impede a shift from the current control-only oriented approach to a more comprehensive and coherent policy-making and management with regard to the recreational sea fisheries ;;