How are fishing stocks holding up? What is the state of the EU fishing fleet? How does the EU fisheries and aquaculture sector compare to the rest of the world? The answers to these and many more questions can be found in the latest edition of the Facts and Figures on the Common Fisheries Policy, published this week by the European Commission.  

This latest statistical report covers every aspect of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), from ensuring sustainable fishing to support for fishers. It is available in 23 languages and reports on the state of play of the fisheries and aquaculture sector in every EU country.  

The report shows that the CFP’s goal of ensuring sustainable fish stocks continues to show a positive development, with most stocks recovering from the historic lows of 2003. Levels of fish mortality have dropped for most stocks of interest to the EU, but the recovery in the Mediterranean and Black Seas is still relatively slow compared to the North-East Atlantic.  

Also highlighted in the report are the EU’s efforts to develop sustainable fishing outside its own territorial waters, with 12 so-called sustainable fisheries partnership agreements (SFPAs) in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean in 2024. The post-Brexit arrangements with the UK – and ongoing agreements with Norway – are also covered: the so-called Northern Agreements with these two countries represent almost 60% of all quota-regulated catches by the EU fleet globally, in terms of volume. 

Charting the human side of fisheries 

The report also covers in detail the human aspect of the EU fisheries sector, with data covering employment in the sector and fleet size, among others. Although numbers continue to fall, the size of the EU fleet (just over 69,000 vessels in the 22 coastal EU countries) remains disproportionate to the fishing opportunities. But the recovery of many fish stocks has helped boost profitability in the sector to €1.19bn (gross profit from 2021).). 2021 data). 

There were nearly 124,500 people employed in the fisheries sector in 2021 (latest available data), with three Member States (Spain, Italy and Greece) accounting for 58% of the total. Aquaculture (marine, shellfish and freshwater) accounted for nearly 76,000 jobs, with Spain, France and Poland accounting for 58% of those employed. Over 130,000 worked in the processing and distribution of fishery products in 2021, while wholesale and retail distribution accounted for a further 210,000.  

In terms of catches, with 3.59 million tonnes the EU accounted for 3.9% of the total fisheries production worldwide in 2021, with most fishing occurring in the North Atlantic, where Atlantic herring, European sprat, blue whiting and mackerel are the most common catches, together accounting for 42% of total EU landings. The total aquaculture production was 1.13 million tonnes, with mussels accounting for 38% of this total. The fish processing industry turnover in 2021 was roughly €30 billion. Detailed information on catches and aquaculture by species and by country can be found in the report.  

Trade and consumption hold up well 

The EU is the second most important trader of fishery and aquaculture products in the world in terms of value. While EU trade (imports and exports combined) has slightly decreased in volume over the past few years, in value it has continued to grow, reaching close to €40 billion in 2022. Most imports come from Norway, China, Ecuador, Morocco and the UK, while most exports go to the United States, the UK, China, Norway and Switzerland. In value terms, 2022 exports were €8 billion, although this is far lower than sales between EU countries, which accounted for €31.5 billion in the same year.  

The report also looks at consumer data, which shows that the average EU consumption of fish or seafood is 23.7kg per year, some 3kg above the global average. Consumption, however, varies greatly across the EU, from 6.6kg per person per year in Hungary to 56.5kg in Portugal. Three quarters of the fish or seafood consumed in the EU comes from wild fisheries, while the remaining quarter comes from aquaculture. The most popular species are tuna, salmon and cod. In terms of household spending on fisheries products, total sales were around €63 billion in 2022, accounting for roughly 6% of total food sales in the EU.  

More information 

Facts and Figures on the Common Fisheries PolicyÂ