CFP: laying foundations for the future

The Common Fisheries Policy began life back in the 1980s. At that time, the main issue for Europe’s fisheries managers
was how to maintain access for the Member States’ fleets to their traditional fishing grounds, at a time when nations
around the world where extending their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) to 200 nautical miles from the baseline.
Many fleets had long traditions of fishing far from home. By granting each other free mutual access to their national
waters, the CFP forestalled conflicts which had the otential to cause major social and economic disruption. Also, as fish
are mobile and cross national borders in the sea, the fish taken by one fishing fleet are effectively fish lost to other fleets. There was therefore a need to agree between countries about how much should be taken and by whom.