The European Union imports over 70% of the fish it consumes.

Omissions

• The most recent official figure available before the 2026-07-09 session (EU Blue Economy Report 2025, published 2025) confirms a 'significant 70%' import share — the claim's 'over 70%' is a lower-bound phrasing consistent with that figure (a difference of less than 1 percentage point, within standard rounding).
• The Blue Economy Report phrasing refers specifically to imported wild-capture fishery products within total EU consumption.
• A related but distinct EUMOFA metric — the EU self-sufficiency rate for fishery and aquaculture products — stood at 38.1% in 2023 (first increase since 2018); this measures domestic production relative to apparent consumption (including EU aquaculture and intra-EU trade) and does not contradict the ~70% import share of consumption.
• The data underlying the report refer to 2023–2024 reference periods, which the MEP could have known at the time of the session.

Sources

• PrimaryEU Blue Economy Report 2025 — Marine living resources (European Commission, op.europa.eu)A significant 70% of that consumption comprises imported wild-capture fishery products. The EU's self-sufficiency continued to decrease – reaching an all-time low.
• PrimaryEUMOFA — The EU Fish Market 2025 (European Commission)In 2023, the EU self-sufficiency rate for fishery and aquaculture products increased, for the first time since 2018, to 38.1%, driven by declining imports. EU household expenditure on fishery and aquaculture products reached 62.8 billion euros in 2024, growing by 4% compared with 2023.