This article was featured in Eurofish Magazine 3 2026.
Three environmental organisations, ClientEarth, Sea Shepherd France and Défense des Milieux Aquatiques, have launched legal action against the French government at the Conseil d’État, alleging a failure to monitor and reduce seabird bycatch in French waters. France is estimated to record some of Europe’s highest seabird bycatch levels, with tens of thousands of birds dying annually in longlines, gillnets and trawls targeting hake, sea bass and tuna. Affected species include the Balearic shearwater, Northern gannet and common guillemot, classified as critically endangered, near threatened and endangered respectively on the IUCN Red List. The NGOs argue France is breaching the Birds and Habitats Directives, the Technical Measures Regulation and other EU law, and that proven mitigation measures used elsewhere are not being applied. The case follows an ongoing European Commission infringement procedure against France over the same failings, adding further pressure on authorities overseeing the world’s second largest Exclusive Economic Zone.
