The European Parliament has backed protected zones for fishing and aquaculture in European waters, pushing back against the growing pressure on sea space from wind farms and other industries.
European Union lawmakers voted on Wednesday to formally recognise fishing and aquaculture as priority users of maritime space, in a move welcomed by fishing industry representatives across member states.
MEPs backed the proposals by 518 votes to 31, with 102 abstentions, calling on the European Commission to revise the EU’s maritime spatial planning directive, which has been in place since 2014 and governs how sea space is divided between competing industries.
The vote comes ahead of a Commission proposal for a new European Ocean Act, expected before the end of 2026, which will set out updated rules for the use of EU waters.
Priority zones demanded
Parliament is calling for the creation of dedicated priority areas for fisheries across different fleet types and sea basins, including ring-fenced zones specifically for small-scale coastal fishermen. MEPs argued that fishing and aquaculture must be protected as strategic sectors essential to EU food security and the economic survival of coastal communities.
Lawmakers also called for better integration of aquaculture into sea planning frameworks and urged the Commission to consider introducing a standalone common aquaculture policy. They want streamlined licencing and fewer regulatory barriers in designated aquaculture development zones.
Wind farm concerns
A central concern in the Parliament’s report is the growing conflict between the fishing industry and offshore wind energy developers. MEPs said coexistence between fisheries and offshore energy infrastructure is currently limited and called for binding socio-economic impact assessments to be carried out before any area is handed over for wind farm development.
Fishermen and other stakeholders, MEPs said, must be actively involved before such decisions are taken rather than consulted after the fact. The same principle was applied to marine protected areas, with Parliament arguing that fishermen should have a meaningful role in the design, management and review of such zones.
Cross-border planning and climate
Parliament also called for stronger coordination between member states on sea planning, including sea-basin strategies to complement national plans and closer cooperation with non-EU coastal countries. MEPs highlighted threats facing fisheries from coastal erosion, rising water temperatures, invasive species and ocean acidification, and called for climate adaptation measures to be built into maritime planning frameworks.
Industry reaction
Rapporteur Stephane Yon-Courtin, a French MEP from the Renew Europe group, said fisheries and aquaculture must be formally recognised in EU law as strategic sectors essential to food sovereignty and the development of coastal regions.
“Ahead of the upcoming EU Ocean Act, we are calling for a revision of the maritime spatial planning directive,” she said. “The revision must ensure planning is better coordinated and balanced, that fishing professionals and stakeholders are fully involved in decisions, that cross-border and macro-regional planning strategies are strengthened, and that fisheries and aquaculture have a guaranteed place in maritime space.”
The vote represents a significant signal from the Parliament ahead of negotiations on the Ocean Act, though the Commission is not bound by the Parliament’s non-binding recommendations. Industry bodies are expected to use the vote as political leverage when the draft legislation is published later this year.
