The European Union has tackled the problem of seabird bycatch in fishing activities with a new plan that seeks to protect these species through the management of longline and fixed-net fisheries, where seabird bycatches have a higher percentage.

Fishing activities pose a threat to some 49 species of seabirds such as shearwaters, murrelets, albatrosses, petrels, sea ducks and loons, which produces high levels of mortality, around more than 200,000 seabirds a year due to contact with the fishing fleet.

The plan consists of 30 recommended actions, including some mandatory measures to be complied with by fishing vessels from the European Union and non-EU vessels fishing in European waters. These are strategies established on the basis of the principles set out in the course of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), with the aim of promoting proper ecosystem management. Among the short-term actions, the control of fisheries and the application of mitigating measures will be extended, while research on concrete measures and actions to be applied in fixed net fisheries is encouraged.