A lack of accountability and transparency around EU fishing activities outside EU waters is contributing to overfishing and endangering local food supply, two new WWF reports reveal. This, in turn, clouds the sustainability of the seafood products sold and consumed in the EU. 

WWF’s research shows that the EU’s fishing agreements with non-EU countries - ‘sustainable fisheries partnership agreements’ (SFPAs) - do not always contribute to sustainable fishing. For example, EU fleets sometimes fail to accurately report catches, making it difficult to determine fair fishing quotas and furthering risks of overfishing. In addition, the current EU negotiation process for SFPAs doesn’t require any assurance that partner countries have consulted those whose livelihoods or food supplies depend on the same fishery resources, nor does it require transparency on how EU funds tied to these Agreements will support local sustainable fisheries management systems.