Blue Manifesto: The Roadmap to a healthy ocean in 2030

Led by BirdLife Europe, ClientEarth, Oceana, Seas at Risk Surfrider Foundation Europe, and WWF, the manifesto lays out bold actions needed to halt the ocean’s decline.

Despite President von der Leyen’s pledge for a “European Ocean Pact,” Europe’s seas remain in critical condition, with over 90% of marine areas under pressure from human activity. Destructive practices like bottom trawling still devastate EU Marine Protected Areas, and 14 million tonnes of plastic enter the ocean each year.

The Blue Manifesto calls on the EU to:

• Use resources wisely: End harmful subsidies, create an EU Ocean Fund, and increase funding for enforcement of marine protection laws.
• Improve ocean governance: Establish an EU Ocean and Seas Agency, ensure seafood traceability, and enforce existing marine laws.
• Ensure effective marine protection: Ban destructive activities like bottom trawling and deep-sea mining, and protect 30% of EU seas by 2030.
• Fight pollution: Advocate for a Global Plastics Treaty, ban harmful chemicals like PFAS, and reduce ship speeds near sensitive habitats.
• Support a just transition: Phase out fuel tax exemptions in fisheries and develop a fair transition plan for a sustainable blue economy.

Cyrielle Goldberg, BirdLife Europe’s Marine Policy Officer, says: “The last 30 years have been marked by appalling shortcomings in the implementation of environmental legislation in marine waters, pushing the prospect of achieving the objectives of the EU’s Biodiversity Strategy further away, while science indicates that marine ecosystems keep on depleting. The Blue Manifesto lays out all the steps that should be undertaken to turn the situation around and achieve environmental, social and economic resilience at sea and for coastal communities. Halfway to 2030, this roadmap highlights more than ever how important it is that the EU seizes the opportunity to use it as a foundation for an ambitious EU Ocean Deal that will guarantee a livable future for both people and planet.”

The Blue Manifesto was first launched in 2020, and each year since, the six leading NGOs have monitored the EU’s progress—or lack of it—towards achieving a healthy, climate-resilient ocean by 2030. Annual assessments show that EU Member States have missed key opportunities to protect the seas, failing to meet critical legal obligations, such as ending overfishing by 2020 under the Common Fisheries Policy and achieving Good Environmental Status as required by the Marine Strategy Framework Directive.

Image: Harry Collins