Mundus maris asbl is among the more than 140 organisations supporting the Blue Manifesto for a healthy and resilient Ocean by 2030. This is the Ocean Decade! The Ocean is our best ally in stabilising the climate, producing half the oxygen we breathe, providing food, jobs, commerce and recreation. Our cultures are steeped in ocean stories. But relentless extractions and unbridled pollution from profit seeking for the benefit of a few have led to 93% of European marine waters being degraded. This has to stop. We know that the regenerative capacity of the Ocean is great. The Blue Manifesto traces an ambitious yet concrete pathway to a restored ocean, regenerated biodiversity, supporting thriving coastal communities.

Danny van Belle

It is time to give back to the Ocean. The forthcoming European Ocean Act, scheduled for 2027, when backed up by a substantial Ocean Fund, offers the opportunity to do just that. This is why Mundus maris participated in the public consultation towards the Ocean Act with the following recommendations:

  • Enforce the existing provisions of the Common Fisheries Policy and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive through better collaboration with and compliance by EU Member States (the assessments have evidenced a significant implementation gap so that fewer benefits arise than could have been expected
  • Phase out the most harmful activities in EU waters, particularly in designated marine protected areas and Natura 2000 areas and expand protected areas from such impacts in order to counter the steady decline of ecosystems and their production towards increased availability of local products rather than the imports
  • Better enforce and implement other existing ocean obligations, with particular attention to setting binding targets for protecting the polar oceans and glaciers, the climate thermostats
  • Support improved policy coherence through emphasising cross-sectoral dialogue and cooperation for better overall outcomes
  • Enhance policy coherence further by countering growing power concentrations across ocean industries in order to reduce social injustices that hinder addressing the triple planetary crisis referred to in the Call for Evidence.

The Ocean Act is an opportunity for the EU to strengthen inclusive, multi-stakeholder dialogue approaches towards addressing the implementation gaps. It must boost nature‑based solutions to address sea level rise, minimise sealing through coastal infrastructures, phasing out harmful fisheries subsidies and help reduce illegal, unregulated, and unrecorded (IUU) fishing, ensure effective protection of marine protected areas, and provide active support towards the implementation of the BBNJ treaty (the Treaty on Biodiversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction under the Law of the Sea) and the GBF (the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework under the Convention on Biological Diversity, CBD).

Together with inclusive Marine Spatial Planning these measures combine to deliver regenerated, biodiverse and climate‑resilient seas. Approached and implemented in this way, the Ocean Act will create economic opportunities also for low-impact fisheries, more local value chains including gender-aware support measures, and recreational activities that rely on healthy, regenerated marine and coastal waters in the EU and beyond. (end)

Read the detailed Roadmap to 2030 here to make healthy European seas a reality. Back the Ocean Act with an Ocean Fund!

Harvey Buyst