The European Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) introduced already in the 1970s, aims to ensure that fishing and aquaculture are environmentally, economically and socially sustainable and that they provide a source of healthy food. Its goal is to foster a dynamic fishing industry and ensure a fair standard of living for fishing communities (1).

It recognizes the importance to maximise catches, but within limits. The CFP shall ensure that fishing practices does not harm the ability of fish populations to reproduce. The current policy shall stipulate that between 2015 and 2020 catch limits should be set that are sustainable and maintain fish stocks in the long term (1).

Since the impact of fishing on the fragile marine environment is not fully understood, the CFP wants to adopt a cautious approach which recognises the impact of human activity on all components of the ecosystem. It shall seek to make fishing fleets more selective in what they catch, and to phase out the practice of discarding unwanted fish (1). The CFP has 4 main policy areas:

1. Fisheries management: The principal aim is to ensure high long-term fishing yields for all stocks. This is referred to as maximum sustainable yield. Fisheries management includes input controls, such as rules on access to waters (to control which vessels have access to which waters and areas); fishing effort controls (to limit fishing capacity and vessel usage); technical measures (to regulate gear usage and where and when fishermen can fish). It includes output controls which consist of limiting the amount of fish from a particular fishery, in particular through total allowable catch (TAC) quotas (2).
2. International policy: More than 20% of EU vessels´ catches are taken outside of EU waters. 9.3% of EU catches (2014-18) are made in the EEZ of third countries engaged with the EU in fishing agreements, 2.2% in other third countries, while another 10% are taken from the high seas, mainly tropical tunas. As a major fishing power, and the largest single market for fisheries products in the world, the EU also plays an important role in promoting better governance through a number of international organisations. Most important is the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) (3).
3. Market and trade policy: The ‘Common Organisation of the Markets’ shall strengthen the role of the actors: producers shall become responsible for ensuring the sustainable exploitation of natural resources and equipped with instruments to better market their products. Consumers shall receive more and better information on the products sold on the EU market, which, regardless of their origin, must comply with the same rules (4).
4. Funding of the policy: For the long-term EU budget 2021-2027, the Commission is proposing over €6 billion under a simpler, more flexible fund for European fisheries and the maritime economy.

Aquaculture, namely farming finfish, shellfish and aquatic plants accounts for about 20% of fish production and directly employs about 85 000 people. The EU intends to boost the aquaculture sector through the CFP mainly by reducing administrative burdens, improving access to space and water, increasing competitiveness as well as exploiting competitive advantages due to high quality, health and environmental standards (5).

The CFP points out the importance of fisheries conservation measures for the protection of the marine environment. However, in practice it is criticised e.g. for being overcentralized, not protecting fish stocks effectively, or allowing fishermen to dump billions of dead fish because of being too small or the wrong species (6).