EU Ocean Pact Response: Tentative steps forward, but critical gaps must be addressed to protect our Ocean

Brussels, 5 June 2025. Six leading environmental NGOs warn that the European Commission’s Ocean Pact falls short of delivering enough binding action urgently needed to protect our ocean.

BirdLife Europe, ClientEarth, Oceana, Seas At Risk, Surfrider Foundation Europe, and the WWF European Policy Office welcome today’s announcement of a European Ocean Act, which aims to bring coherence to marine policies.

But they warn that for the Act to be successful, it must lead to the immediate implementation of existing obligations and include legally binding targets and thresholds to pave the way for the conservation and restoration needed for a healthy ocean and strong coastal communities. 

The six NGOs stress that, while the Pact acknowledges the importance of ocean protection, it lacks concrete measures to tackle the most harmful activities in European waters, including overfishing, pollution, and destructive activities,  in our protected areas. Though the Pact acknowledges it will work on the implementation and enforcement of existing legislation, it fails to outline a concrete plan to tackle this.

In light of the upcoming UN Ocean Conference (UNOC) in Nice, the NGOs highlight that the Pact specifically falls short on:

• Concrete steps to phase out destructive fishing practices, such as bottom trawling, in Marine Protected Areas;
• A clear roadmap of action to ensure implementation of existing targets and obligations, including under the Common Fisheries Policy and environmental legislation, matched with adequate funding for enforcement;
• Clear public financial commitments for marine conservation and restoration and towards small-scale, low-impact fishers to enable a just transition;
• Proposing meaningful measures to reduce pollution at its source, including plastics, nutrients, and chemical contaminants;
• A roadmap for a just transition to a regenerative blue economy.

At the same time, the NGOs welcome:

• The Commission’s commitment to better coherence and to scale up effective implementation of the Nature Directives and Nature Restoration Law;
• The Commission’s commitment to a precautionary approach to the destructive activities of deep-sea mining and marine geoengineering;
• The announcement to push for the conclusion of an international agreement which would provide additional rules to regulate subsidies that incentivise overfishing.  

As the Pact moves into the implementation phase, the NGOs urge EU institutions and Member States to strengthen it through concrete follow-up measures and ensure that ocean protection becomes central to ocean-related EU laws.

Cyrielle Goldberg, Marine Policy Officer at BirdLife Europe said: “The Oceans Pact is a welcome signal that ocean protection is a priority and requires greater coherence. But coherence means more than aligning strategies—it means using public money to fund what truly benefits people, and ensuring that laws are properly enforced. Without dedicated public funding to deliver on its goals—and a clear commitment to end harmful subsidies—this initiative risks becoming yet another well-meaning promise lost at sea. If the EU is serious about restoring marine ecosystems, supporting sustainable fisheries, and safeguarding coastal communities, it must match words with money.”

ENDS

Contacts:

Cyrielle Goldberg | Marine Policy Officer | [email protected]

Saskia Pelzer | Communication Officer | [email protected]

Cover picture: Sam Whitton, Shutterstock