While the European MPs said no to electric fishery in mid-January, the European Commission and the Member States have yet to speak out on. 

This destructive practice, involving electrocuting and scraping the seabed, could empty our oceans in a few years. This electric current spares no organism: all marine life is electrocuted.

Although banned in Europe since 1998, the Dutch fishing lobbies didn’t stop gaining ground to obtain exemptions from the European Commission.  

But it's not too late to save our seabed ! The European Institutions are still considering the proposal, together we can make sure they do the right thing and ban electric fishing for good. 

The consequences of this fishing-taser are very serious for the environment and could have devastating effects on eggs, juveniles, electro-sensitive species such as rays and sharks, plankton, fish physiology and water chemistry. A notable study by the IMARES (Dutch Public Institute for Marine Resources & Ecosystem Studies) showed that up to 70% of the cod caught by electric trawls had fractured spine.

Small-scale fishers are also suffering a lot from these exemptions, denouncing the raids of the big Dutch trawlers, which leave only damaged fish with fractured vertebral columns or with burns marks. 

Indeed, 84 Dutch vessels are currently using electric fishing, which represents 28% of the Dutch fleet instead of the 5% permitted, so far exceeding their exemptions. The European NGO Bloom has lodged a complaint against the Netherlands with the European Commission.

Once again, let many among us to make our representatives listen to reason. Thanks to your mobilization, SumOfUs has already won important campaigns to preserve our planet and our health. You are already more than 780 000 members to have joined our campaign asking the European Commission to stop the trashing of our oceans with plastic pollution. 

So against the lobby of Dutch fishing companies, we have to be numerous to raise our voices so that our institutions represent our interests and not those of the Industry.