EUROPÊCHE STRENGTHENS ITS TEAM TO RAISE THE VOICE OF EU FISHERS

Europêche strengthens its team to raise the voice of EU fishers in Brussels. Europêche, the representative body of Europe’s fishing sector, has appointed Margot Angibaud as senior policy advisor to reinforce the organisation’s commitment to sustainable bottom fishing and amplify the sector’s voice in EU and international decision-making. With this move, Europêche aims to intensify its advocacy for the EU fleet by promoting sustainable ocean governance, showcasing the sector’s achievements, boosting business competitiveness and securing a level playing field.

Among her responsibilities, Ms Angibaud will oversee EU legislation and policy, governance, trade and market issues, scientific work and communications, with a particular focus on bottom fisheries. She will also provide strategic advice on North-East Atlantic matters, including relations with Norway and the UK.

With over five years of international experience spanning marine environmental organisations and the French National Committee for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Ms. Angibaud has developed strong expertise in fisheries policy and its pivotal role in ensuring food sovereignty. However, she is concerned that sustainable EU fisheries, such as bottom trawling, wrongly suffer from widespread misinformation:

“From experience, I know how vital bottom fisheries are to feed people, sustain jobs, and keep coastal communities alive. Yet, I fear that the progressive loss of EU bottom trawlers will only increase the 70% EU dependence of seafood imports from non-EU countries, such as Asians ones. We must revert the situation now,’ she said. “Our vessels comply with the highest global standards of environmental and social sustainability. There is always room for improvement, and we are working hard to minimize our environmental footprint. Innovations like AI machine learning show great promise, allowing to sort species and sizes directly underwater rather than on deck.”

European fishers are at a critical crossroads. Despite being one of the most low-carbon food-producing sectors, fishing is increasingly marginalised—both physically, through spatial exclusion, and politically, within geopolitical, environmental and marine spatial planning frameworks:

“I will dedicate all my efforts to ensuring that the voice of EU fisheries is heard in EU forums on these crucial topics. Food production must be treated as a priority for the EU, on par with security, renewable energy, transport or environmental protection,” she concluded.

Javier Garat, President of Europêche, declared:

“We are delighted to have Mrs Angibaud in Europêche’s team and warmly welcome her aboard. Her experience and expertise will undoubtedly be a valuable asset to our companies in the EU and international arena. I’m sure she will take a pro-active role in advocating fishing activities that are carried out in an environmentally friendly and socially responsible way.”

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