Three years ago, Germany and the Netherlands proposed introducing fishing bans in several areas of the North Sea – a proposal adopted by the European Commission. The fishing bans established at the time affect the Sylter Außenriff, Borkum-Riffgrund, Doggerbank, and eastern Deutsche Bucht, as well as Klaverbank, Friese Front, and Centrale Oestergronden. The rationale behind these conservation measures is that crangonid and finfish fisheries, particularly using bottom trawls and other bottom-contacting gear, cause excessive damage to the seabed. To protect the harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) and several seabird species, further restrictions apply to fishing with gillnets and entangling nets. The habitat of these marine organisms is under severe threat. In parts of these marine protected areas, fishing is entirely prohibited.
The Verband der Deutschen Kutter- und Küstenfischer filed a lawsuit against these measures - and lost before the General Court of the European Union in the first instance (judgment of 21 May 2025, Case T-265/23). The association can still appeal the judgment to the Court of Justice of the European Union, meaning it is not yet legally binding.
The General Court dismissed all of the association's objections to the measures in their entirety. It ruled that they constitute effective and permissible measures for the protection of the marine environment. Contrary to the association's view, the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive also provides a sufficient legal basis to include gravel beds in the conservation scope. According to the Court, the European Commission has broad discretionary powers regarding the fishing ban, and the association failed to demonstrate that the Commission had exceeded this discretion. The fishermen's association provided no scientific evidence to support its claim that a less extensive fishing ban would have sufficed to protect the areas. In contrast, the Commission relied on scientific recommendations that encompassed extensive areas due to habitat interactions: only in this way could the entire ecosystem be adequately protected.
Judgment (German version): https://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?text=&docid=300408&pageIndex=0&doclang=de&mode=lst&dir=&occ=first&part=1&cid=4604416
