Ocean Act: Charting a course from paper commitments to real practice

ClientEarth argues that the proposed Ocean Act must move from 'paper commitments to real practice' by becoming a legally binding Regulation rather than a Directive. The organization advocates for the achievement of 'Good Environmental Status' (GES) under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) as the overarching objective, which would prioritize environmental thresholds over socio-economic goals. Key recommendations include establishing a legally binding target for 30% of EU seas as effectively managed Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) by 2030, banning bottom trawling in MPAs, and phasing out harmful fisheries subsidies. ClientEarth also proposes 'Ocean Mainstreaming' to integrate marine protection across all EU sectoral policies and calls for stronger enforcement mechanisms, including access to justice and infringement proceedings, to close the existing implementation gap.

• The Ocean Act should establish the achievement of 'Good Environmental Status' (GES), as defined by the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), as its overarching objective to ensure a 'strong sustainability' perspective where environmental goals take precedence over social and economic ones.
• ClientEarth recommends that the Ocean Act be adopted as a Regulation rather than a Directive to ensure direct applicability, a level playing field across Member States, and greater predictability in governance.
• To meet international and EU biodiversity goals, the Ocean Act should include legally binding targets to have 30% of EU seas as effectively conserved and managed MPAs and 10% as strictly protected areas by 2030.
• The document calls for a ban on mobile bottom fishing, specifically bottom trawling, in all EU Marine Protected Areas by 2030, noting that between 2015 and 2023, over 4.4 million hours of bottom trawling occurred in MPAs.
• ClientEarth proposes 'Ocean Mainstreaming' (OM) as a procedural obligation requiring the EU and Member States to systematically integrate ocean protection into all policies, including climate, energy, trade, and agriculture.
• The Ocean Act should mandate a precautionary pause on deep-sea mining in European and international waters and a ban on all new offshore oil and gas exploration and extraction.
• Current EU funding mechanisms are criticized for lack of alignment with environmental goals; for example, 5% to 12% of funds from the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) were used for harmful subsidies.
• There is a significant gap in the enforcement of ocean law, with DG MARE opening only one new infringement case in 2025 and none in 2024, despite the economic benefit of full implementation estimated at 180 billion EUR per year in savings.
• The document argues that the Ocean Act must include explicit provisions for access to information, public participation, and access to justice in line with the Aarhus Convention to ensure compliance.

APA

ClientEarth (2026). Ocean Act: Charting a course from paper commitments to real practice. https://www.clientearth.org/media/0zrhykf0/for-submission-clientearth-call-for-evidence-response-ocean-act-1.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. Ocean Act: Charting a course from paper commitments to real practice. 2026. https://www.clientearth.org/media/0zrhykf0/for-submission-clientearth-call-for-evidence-response-ocean-act-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=ClientEarth |title=Ocean Act: Charting a course from paper commitments to real practice |date=1 February 2026 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/0zrhykf0/for-submission-clientearth-call-for-evidence-response-ocean-act-1.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{clientearth2026ocean, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{Ocean Act: Charting a course from paper commitments to real practice}}, publisher = {ClientEarth}, year = {2026}, month = feb, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/0zrhykf0/for-submission-clientearth-call-for-evidence-response-ocean-act-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }