The evaluation of the Common Fisheries Policy found that 30% of jobs in the EU fishing sector were destroyed.

Error detected

The claim states that the CFP evaluation found 30% of EU fishing sector jobs were destroyed; the available data from the evaluation and Commission reports show a decline of approximately 15% over the evaluation period (2014-2023), roughly half the claimed figure.

Omissions

• The claimed figure of 30% does not appear in the available evaluation-related sources; the documented decline over the evaluation period (2014-2023) is approximately 15%.
• A longer historical horizon (e.g. since the 1990s or early 2000s) could show a larger cumulative employment loss, but that is not what the recent CFP evaluation reports and no source for a 30% figure tied to the evaluation was found.
• The Commission's own social report (published 2026-06-22, before the session date) confirms a 15% decrease in fisheries employment between 2017 and 2023, consistent with the evaluation data.
• The full Commission evaluation staff working document was not retrieved directly; the employment figures come from an independent stakeholder analysis of the evaluation (ETF-Europe) and the Commission's social report.

Sources

• PrimaryEuropean Commission — DG MARE news: Commission publishes first annual social report on fisheries, aquaculture and fish processingThe report highlights a decline in employment in fisheries across the EU, with a 15% decrease between 2017 and 2023, with the exceptions of ...
• SecondaryETF-Europe (European Transport Workers' Federation) — Evaluation of the Common Fisheries Policy shows the social dimension has been neglectedJob losses and wage stagnation: Employment has steadily and worryingly declined, falling from 141,064 fishers in 2014 to 119,479 in 2023.