Water, Marine & Fisheries

Our Work

IEEP has a long track record of examining the challenges in the implementation of water, marine and fisheries legislation, primarily the Water Framework Directive, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the Common Fisheries Policy.

Our fisheries and marine work has a track record of analysing and commenting on the evolution of EU fisheries policies and related marine environmental initiatives for over 16 years. We have undertaken a number of projects and studies on specific areas such as fisheries governance, management and subsidies; policies and instruments to tackle marine litter pollution; and establishing, implementing and funding marine protected areas.

IEEP undertakes a wide range of work on EU water policy, focusing on the Water Framework Directive, but also on the many ‘supporting’ Directives. Our work includes highly influential projects for the Commission, such as supporting development of the Water Blueprint, Fitness Check and supporting the Common Implementation Strategy.  

Regarding work in this area, please contact Stephanie Newman.

Latest in Water, Marine & Fisheries

  • Tackling marine litter with the circular economy and the EU Plastics Strategy

    IEEP identifies how the EU Plastics Strategy and Circular Economy Action Plan provide a unique opportunity to address marine litter and its impacts.

  • Plastics, Marine Litter and the Circular Economy

    Briefing and three product fiches explore circular economy solutions for reducing the flow of plastic waste into the oceans.

  • New open access book on marine litter

    A new book, 'Marine Anthropogenic Litter', has been published comprising 16 chapters on various aspects of the complex issue of litter in the world’s oceans. Researchers from IEEP contributed a chapter on the economics of marine litter. The whole book is free to view online.

  • Paper on the challenges of taking account of long timescales in the management of Europe’s regional seas

    There many physical, biological and social characteristics of marine systems which are slow to change. Understanding these is important if marine managers are to develop effective targets and measures to deliver environmental improvements.

  • The Manual: Front pages

    This is a chapter of IEEP’s Manual of European Environmental Policy. This chapter provides information on the authors, editors and editorial board involved in the Manual, as well as guidance on how to use it, and a brief outline of its content.

  • The Manual: Chapter 5 - Water and marine

    This is a chapter of IEEP’s Manual of European Environmental Policy. In this chapter the development of EU water pollution policy is explored, including the Water Framework Directive, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, and other directives and policies covering flooding; water scarcity; and dangerous substances in water.

  • The Manual: Chapter 13 - Sectoral policies

    This is a chapter of IEEP’s Manual of European Environmental Policy. This chapter sets out the development of some of the most important links between EU environmental policy and other policy areas, such as agriculture, forestry, fisheries, transport, trade, and so on.

  • Challenges of achieving good environmental status in the Black Sea

    Achieving Good Environmental Status in the Black Sea is particularly challenging due to governance structure. This paper explores this in relation to eutrophication and fisheries management.

  • 40 years of cooperation in protecting the Baltic Sea

    IEEP’s Marianne Kettunen gave a presentation at the Helsinki Convention (HELCOM) Jubilee Session on the understanding and valuation of marine ecosystem services, Helsinki, 5 Mar 2014.

  • The Ecosystem Approach in Marine Management

    The Marine Strategy Framework Directive requires Member States to apply an “ecosystem approach to marine management”. This report defines the ecosystem approach and puts it into context by describing the challenges of applying it across Europe’s seas.

Highlights