The Commission's Green Paper on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy outlines the state of Europe's fisheries today. While important initiatives have been taken to make EU fisheries more sustainable, important problems remain. Europe's fish stocks have been overfished for decades. Overfished stocks have resulted in European consumers now being dependent on imports for their seafood. Fishing fleets remain too large and, as they have fewer fish to catch, they remain unprofitable, despite being heavily subsidised. It could be argued that European citizens pay for their fish twice - once at the shop counter, and again through their tax invoices.

Green Paper on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy