The ocean's resources belong to all citizens. We want healthy seas, full of fish and shellfish. So - how could fishing for cod in the Baltic Sea be allowed to continue despite all the warning signs? How can herring fishing get the green light even though EU law prohibits continued fishing? For a long time, I lived under the delusion that the European seas were managed democratically. That it is only in dictatorships that predatory behavior is deliberately allowed to destroy life below the surface and destroy the living space of all living things.
EU fisheries ministers exclude the public. The countries' mutual positions are kept secret. We citizens are not allowed to influence the decisions that are decisive for the ocean and the planet. The fishing quotas are set over a couple of hectic days and usually exceed the advice of science. Deep Sea Reporter has exclusively interviewed the EU's own Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly, who condemns the lack of transparency…
