30 percent or bust: 2026 is Europe’s ocean moment

Jacob Armstrong

Ocean Policy Manager, WWF European Policy Office

2025 was a dud year for EU environmental protection.

In Brussels, “simplification” and “competitiveness” became codewords for the weakening of environmental standards at an unprecedented scale – from rollbacks affecting global deforestation, environmental impact assessments, and hard-won protections of nature, 2025 put a serious question mark over the credibility of the EU’s green leadership.

All of this happened against the backdrop of continued destruction and decline of our planet’s natural resources, not least of all our marine life.

In 2025, our planet reached a major tipping point linked to greenhouse gas emissions, with warm water coral reefs now facing a long-term decline. Human activities, including destructive fishing practices like bottom trawling, continued to wreak havoc, with up to 90% of Europe’s marine areas now estimated to be under pressure from human activities.

The EU also keeps importing seafood tainted by illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, potentially fuelling human and labour rights violations, harmful fishing practices, and wildlife abuse.

With all this in mind, how can WWF even suggest that 2026 could be “the year” for meaningful EU ocean policy? Surely the panda has well and truly lost its marbles?

Amidst all the doom and gloom of 2025, there were two signs that the tide could be turning for European waters. Firstly, implementation of the EU’s Nature Restoration Law is now underway in most Member States, marking a crucial first step towards repairing Europe’s ecosystems, including our ocean.

Secondly, Ursula Von der Leyen announced that the European Commission would be putting forward a European Ocean Act by 2027, in a bid to provide “a single framework to facilitate delivery on Europe’s ocean commitments […] turning ambition into reality”.

Therein lies the possibility for the EU to, finally, at long last, put its money where its mouth is, and enshrine effective marine protection into EU law.

To be precise: 30% of all EU marine areas must be legally designated for effective marine protection by the EU by 2030.

This idea of “30 by 30” has been around for a while. Through the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, agreed in 2022, nearly every country committed to protect at least 30% of land and sea to reverse biodiversity loss by the end of the decade.

This target can also be found in the EU’s Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, released in 2020, which set the EU on the path to protecting and effectively managing at least 30% of its seas, an area roughly the size of Greenland, with at least one third of this area under strict protection. This commitment has been supported by an array of civil society groups, EU Member States through their ratification of the global High Seas Treaty, and some private companies.

However, this target is not legally binding. Yet.

Recent WWF analysis shows that a mere 2% of EU seas are currently covered by Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) with management plans. MPAs are a key tool for safeguarding marine biodiversity by providing spatial protection for specific species, habitats, and ecological processes. Amongst other activities, they would keep at bay destructive activities, like bottom trawling, dredging, and fossil fuel extraction.

However, merely designating an area as an MPA does not guarantee effective protection. This hangs on the implementation of comprehensive management and restoration plans, backed by rigorous monitoring and strong enforcement measures.

When this happens, it’s amazing to see how nature bounces back.

Take the Côte Bleue Marine Park in the northwest Mediterranean as an example – this marine protected area spans 9,873 hectares and 42 km of coastline. It covers two strictly protected no-take zones, where fishing, dredging and anchoring are prohibited, allowing the ecosystem to passively restore itself.

Additionally, active restoration efforts, including artificial reefs and 17.5 km of protective barriers, have supported fish stocks and safeguarded sensitive habitats like seagrass meadows and coralligenous reefs.

Together, these actions have led to the recovery of fish populations, benefitting both biodiversity and fisheries – in fact, the average fish size has increased 1.5 times, average weight 2.9 times, and the average fishing yield has gone up a hugely impressive 7 times.

EU Member States are slowly but surely moving forward with declaring MPAs. Greece, Sweden and Denmark, for instance, have all taken steps to limit destructive fishing activities in coastal waters. The Nature Restoration Law has also been a mechanism for meaningful ocean restoration, with Member States set to submit their first national restoration plans as early as this September, including concrete measures for marine ecosystems.

Recent analysis by WWF and other NGOs evidenced that several Member States are already showing what’s possible, and it is now time for the rest to catch up.

So. Rollback, or recovery: Which will the EU choose?

The forthcoming Ocean Act offers the EU a clear vehicle. Built on the foundations of the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive from 2014 (which requires Member States to create marine spatial plans for sustainable development, balancing economic growth with environmental protection), it has the potential to turn political promises into actual protection by ensuring Member States comply with their commitments and finally deliver on the pledge to protect at least 30% of Europe’s seas.

We have all the tools, and the evidence that protecting and rebuilding marine areas works – all we need now is for the Ocean Act to legally lock these commitments in.

WWF’s European Policy Office supports the organisation’s global mission by helping its network shape EU policies affecting the environment in Europe and across the wider world.

Keep track of WWF EU’s work: