Fisheries

Fish and seafood are highly valued by consumers. Germany is only about 25 percent self-sufficient in respect of fish. Nevertheless, the coastal fishing sector still plays an important role, as it also processes the large quantities of fish that are imported from all over the world, especially from Norway and China, but also from other EU states.

Overview of topics

The German Fishing Industry

The German fishing industry constitutes an efficient, state-of-the-art economic factor providing work for more than 40,000 people – in the fisheries, in fish processing and in the retail and catering trades.

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Germany's Proposal for a Marine Protected Area

The Federal Government explicitly commits to expanding the marine protected areas in Antarctica and submitted a request for a marine protected area (MPA) in the Wedell Sea to the international Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) in October 2016.

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Protecting the marine environment

On the basis of international marine protection agreements, the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) is involved in improving the state of the North and Baltic Seas as well as the North Atlantic. This involves following through on national and international commitments.

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Whale conservation

The Federal Government of Germany is resolutely opposed to commercial whaling. This also applies to scientific whaling.

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EU Fisheries Agreements with third countries

The EU enters into two types of agreements with countries outside of the EU: Northern Fisheries Agreements and Fisheries Partnership Agreements.

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