Europêche

Europêche, the Association of National Organisations of Fishery Enterprises in the European Union, was founded in 1962 and is regarded as the most important EU-wide representative of the catching sector. Europêche is the European organisation of shipowners, fishermen and employers representing around 45,000 vessels, both artisanal and large scale, 80,000 fishermen and counting 16 member organisations from 10 European countries. Europêche aims to improve the competitiveness of EU fishing enterprises, the development of responsible and sustainable fishing activity and the promotion of training, health and safety at sea and fight against illegal fishing.

Europêche is the European platform enabling fluent communication between the European institutions and the fishing sector by keeping all relevant stakeholders informed of the concerns and objectives of EU fishermen in political decision making.

Objectives:

• Ensure that the vital knowledge and experience of fishermen forms part of the decision making process
•  Effectively integrate the three pillars of sustainability - environment, social and economic - into EU policy making
• Help stakeholders understand the actual impacts of political decisions on fisheries
• Build on the successes of our membership in the Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for Sea Fisheries to ensure safety at sea and decent working and living conditions for fishermen
• Support fisheries research by continuing to be an active partner in European projects: such as the European Sector Council for Skills and Employment in the Fisheries Sector