MEDIA RELEASE – FOR RELEASE 9 July 2025
Today, the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC), joined by over twenty leading environmental NGOs, calls on European Commissioner for Oceans and Fisheries, Costas Kadis, to firmly uphold protections of 87 vulnerable deep-sea areas established in EU waters in 2022.
The open letter highlights the recent European Court of Justice’s ruling confirming the legality and legitimacy of the 2022 deep-sea fishing closures, and warns against ongoing political attempts led by some Spanish Members of European Parliament and segments of the fishing industry to revisit protections due to questionable economic arguments.
Sandrine Polti, DSCC Europe Lead said:
“These 87 deep-sea closures were established to protect vulnerable marine ecosystems under the best available science, law and the precautionary principle,” said “Reopening them under industry pressure would not only risk irreparable damage, it would also undermine the EU’s credibility as a leader in ocean protection.”
Scientific and economic assessments from the European Commission have found inconclusive evidence of widespread economic harm resulting from these closures. Rolling back protections now would contradict EU’s ambitions for the preservation and restoration of ocean health unveiled when launching its European Ocean Pact at the recent UN Ocean Conference.
The DSCC and co-signatories call on Commissioner Kadis to resist politicised attempts to dismantle marine protections and to send a clear message: the EU will not sacrifice deep-sea ecosystems for short-term interests.
Read the letter in full here
Media Contact:
Patricia Roy
patricia@communicationsinc.co.uk
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