COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT REPORT Accompanying the document Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on European fisheries and aquaculture statistics and repealing Regulations (EC) No 1921/2006, (EC) No 762/2008, (EC) No 216/2009, (EC) No 217/2009 and (EC) No 218/2009
Date: 2025-07-30
Institutions: European Commission, Eurostat
Subjects: EU statistics, aquaculture, catch of fish, data collection, disclosure of information, fishing area, fishing fleet, fishing statistics, resources of the sea, statistical method

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 30.7.2025  SWD(2025) 233 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT REPORT Accompanying the document Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL  on European fisheries and aquaculture statistics and repealing Regulations (EC) No 1921/2006, (EC) No 762/2008, (EC) No 216/2009, (EC) No 217/2009 and (EC) No 218/2009 {COM(2025) 435 final} - {SEC(2025) 224 final} - {SWD(2025) 232 final}  
 
 
Executive Summary Sheet (Max 2 pages) 

Impact assessment on European fishery statistics 

A. Need for action 

What is the problem and why is it a problem at EU level?  

European  fishery  statistics  have  been  produced  since  the  1950s  to  provide  an  independent,  high  quality 
source on fish catches, landings, fleet and aquaculture data in EU and EFTA countries. They are currently 
covered by five legal acts dating back to the 2000s. The Common fisheries policy has been evolving and 
several  other  data  sources  have  become  available.  Because  of  this,  the  added  value  of  European  fishery 
statistics with regard to supporting the policy-making and monitoring of the Common fisheries policy has 
decreased.  In  addition,  the  European  fishery  statistics  legislation  is  inflexible,  data  needs  go  unfulfilled, 
and  due  to  a  complex  data  structure  aquaculture  statistics  suffer  from  data  being  confidential  and  thus 
publicly unusable. There are also overlaps and discrepancies with data flows from EU Member States to 
the European Commission and to international organisations. All this has led to a situation where the place 
of European fishery statistics in the EU and global fisheries data landscape is unclear. 

What should be achieved? 

The initiative aims at renewed legislation to ensure the added value of European fishery statistics by  

increasing their relevance,  

resolving data confidentiality issues, 

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•  meeting user needs better and more flexibly, 
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•  addressing quality issues in the source data, 
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•  clarifying the place of European fishery statistics in the global fisheries data landscape. 

reducing gaps, overlaps and discrepancies in the EU and global system of fisheries data, and 

What is the value added of action at the EU level (subsidiarity)?  

EU action in fishery statistics, i.e. collecting, harmonising and publishing fisheries data based on common 
regulations, facilitates the collection of data at the same level of detail in all Member States. It imposes the 
application  of  common  standards,  definitions  and  methodologies  which,  in  addition  to  producing 
comparable results at the service of analysis needs for the Common fisheries policy and other EU policies, 
improve efficiency, timeliness and reliability, or in short, increase data quality. A common fisheries policy 
must be accompanied by comparable, harmonised and high-quality statistics which can only be ensured by 
action at EU level. 

B. Solutions 

What are the various options to achieve the objectives? Is there a preferred option? If not, why? 

To achieve the objectives, the following four options were considered:  

1.  Baseline scenario – continuation of the current European fishery statistics; 
2.  Discontinuation of European fishery statistics 
3.  New streamlined legal framework for European fishery statistics; 
4.  New legal basis for aquaculture and compilation of other fishery statistics from EU level 

administrative sources. 

In light of the impact assessment, the results of the consultation activities, and discussions with 
stakeholders, the preferred option is clearly option 3: a new streamlined legal framework for European 
fishery statistics.  

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What are different stakeholders’ views? Who supports which option?  

The preferred option is supported by the main data users: European Commission services, OECD, FAO, 
the  International  Council  for  the  Exploration  of  the  Sea,  several  Regional  Fisheries  Management 
Organisations, a large majority of  the national  statistical  authorities responsible for fisheries  statistics in 
the European statistical system, and a majority of the respondents to the consultation activities. 

C. Impacts of the preferred option 

What are the benefits of the preferred option (if any, otherwise of main ones)?                                     

European fishery statistics would become more relevant as the new legal framework would be updated to 
reflect  current  and  future  user  needs.  They  would  become  more  effective  as  the  existing  benefits,  e.g. 
being a one-stop shop for high-quality, comparable fishery statistics with long time series accessible to all, 
would remain, while providing a simpler and more streamlined legal framework that can better integrate 
and serve new user needs. Reducing double reporting through aligning definitions and reorganising data 
flows would also reduce discrepancies between different data sources and therefore increase the reliability, 
accuracy and international comparability of European fishery statistics. 
What are the costs of the preferred option (if any, otherwise of main ones)?                                    

The  main  direct  costs  for  stakeholders  relate  to  adapting  the  statistical  and  technical  systems  in  the 
European statistical system. The adaptation costs are expected to be marginal. In the mid to long term, the 
new legal basis for European fishery statistics is  expected to lead to  a slightly lower burden and to cost 
savings in the region of 1.2 million € annually due to a more efficient data use and simplified data flows.  
What are the impacts on SMEs and competitiveness?  

Most companies in the fishery sector are small and medium-sized companies. The impact of this initiative 
is however marginal as these companies already need to provide the data for management purposes and 
most of the statistics are planned to be drawn from these existing datasets.  

Will there be significant impacts on national budgets and administrations?  

The cost savings referred to above would materialise in the national statistical authorities as it is planned 
that part of the European fishery statistics will be compiled directly from EU level administrative data for 
the  Common  fisheries  policy,  and  that  multiple  data  flows  would  be  simplified  into  a  single  one 
encompassing EU-level and international needs.  

Will there be other significant impacts?  

Fishery statistics can have indirect impacts on areas such as policy management and the conservation of 
marine resources by enabling better evidence-based policy design, implementation and monitoring based 
on high-quality data comparable across countries. But these impacts are hard to foresee and to measure. 
The direct impacts of statistical legislation are low. 

Proportionality?  

The preferred option provides all the elements to achieve the objectives and does not go beyond what is 
necessary to solve the problem. 

D. Follow-up 

When will the policy be reviewed?  

Annual  compliance  assessments,  continuous  exchanges  with  stakeholders  and  monitoring  of  the  key 
performance indicators will serve to review the policy.  

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