Evaluation of the Deep Sea Access Regulation European Union

DG MARE Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (European Commission) - Project Dates:
January 2020 - January 2021

Description of Project:
Fishing for deep-sea species occur on deep-water slopes, ridges and seamounts with gears that scrape the bottom of the seabed. Impacts are important on the deep-sea fauna, which is made of slow-growing and long-lived species, such as coral reefs and garden, sponges, anemones and sea pens – composing the so-called “vulnerable marine ecosystems” (VMEs).

In 2013, the EU introduced the reformed Common Fisheries Policy, which brought an increased focus on the ecosystem approach to managing fisheries. This led to a revision of Regulation (EC) No 2347/20021 that regulated the access to deep-sea fishing until then. In 2016, the EU adopted Regulation (EU) 2016/23362, called the “Deep-sea Access Regulation”, governing access to deep-sea fishing and setting conditions for protecting VMEs in international and EU waters.

The objective of this study was to assist DG MARE's evaluation of the measures currently applicable for the sustainable exploitation of deep-sea stocks and the prevention of significant adverse impacts on VMEs by examining their effectiveness, efficiency relevance, coherence, EU added-value and sustainability.

This was done with the purpose to:

- take stock of the measures currently in force;

- support and improve the implementation of the Deep-sea Access Regulation;

- enhance transparency and accountability.

Services Provided:

Poseidon provided support to evaluating the Regulations' implementation in Ireland and the UK.