The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is EU's instrument for the management of fisheries and aquaculture. Its stated priorities include long-term management of stocks, effort management, reducing discards, fighting illegal fishing, and improving the economic performance of the sector. The CFP aims at protecting fish stocks and ensuring the future of the fishing sector.
Evaluation of the CFP in 2008 revealed that CFP is not reaching its targets. Fleet overcapacity, overexploited stocks, ineffective control and enforcement, low profitability were highlighted as persistent problems. The 2012 Reform of the CFP will aim at long term sustainability of the stocks (balancing economic, environmental and social objectives). It will rely more on regional management solutions, it will introduce rights-based management instruments to reduce capacity and improve economic efficiency, it will promote coastal community sustainability and will integrate the CFP into the broader maritime policy context.
These developments will lead to an increase in demand for high quality data and scientific advice,  bio-economic modeling capacity, socio-economic impact assessments, and effective controls throughout the entire supply chain to ensure compliance. Action FISHREG is addressing several of these challenges in its research and policy support work. Its customers include EU policy makers, national authorities and international organizations.