In Brussels there are at least 30,000 lobbyists to influence the political decisions. Many of them work for the fishing industry, to ensure that the Council of Ministers makes decisions that favor industrial fishing. And scientists who have a dissenting opinion are intimidated into silence, according to fisheries researcher Reiner Froese.
All citizens want fish-rich, healthy seas. The EU is governed democratically. So why are the EU's seas fished out and on the brink of ecological collapse? The decisions are made in closed rooms, beyond democratic control.
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 are currently violating EU laws, yet no one has been held accountable for their actions. However, today, March 16, environmental organizations are taking the issue to the European Court of Justice, arguing that the violation of the law must have serious consequences.
