Europêche

What Europêche does

Europêche is a Brussels-headquartered non-profit trade association that serves as the unified representative body for national fishing enterprise organizations across EU member states. Its membership comprises 10 national federations covering fleets in Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Latvia, Poland, and (as of January 2026) Portugal, collectively representing approximately 87,500 vessels producing 4.9 million tonnes of catch annually across 23 EU countries — making the EU the world's fifth-largest fishing producer by output. The association engages in direct policy advocacy with the European Commission, Parliament, and Council, participates as a full member of the European Ocean Board, represents the industry at international Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (ICCAT, IOTC, NEAFC), and operates the EU Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for Sea Fishing jointly with ETF and Cogeca.

The association's deliverables consist primarily of information resources and advocacy tools rather than commercial products. Core offerings include the iFish.info information portal on European fisheries statistics, the Fishery Speak multilingual mobile safety glossary app (available in 8 languages), the Safety Handbook for Fishermen (published in 16 languages), a public infographics library, and a Digital Hub for EU Social Dialogue. Europêche also coordinates EU-funded projects including Pillars of the Sea (I, II, and 3) focused on fisher health and safety, and Catching the Potential, a seven-member-state consortium developing a European standard for sustainability training of fishers.

Commercially, Europêche operates as a subscription-funded association financed by membership dues from its national organization members, supplemented by EU project co-financing. It has no equity investors, no parent company, and no public listing. Day-to-day operations are led by a Managing Director and a small professional staff of approximately 10 in Brussels, governed by a President (Javier Garat, also Secretary General of CEPESCA) and two Vice-Presidents drawn from the Dutch and French member organizations.

Name

Europêche

Legal name

Europêche - Association of National Organizations of Fishing Enterprises in the European Union

Website

https://europeche.chil.me

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Europêche is a Brussels-based non-profit trade association representing 10 national fishing enterprise organizations across 9 EU member states, advocating for the European commercial fishing industry in EU policy-making and international fisheries negotiations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industry Trade Association (Fisheries)

NAICS

Fishing, Hunting and Trapping (114), Fishing (1141)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Agriculture, Fisheries & Food Administration (BPAIAAAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Oceans, Coastal & Marine Resource Management (BPADALAI)

Keywords

• Fisheries trade association
• Fishing industry advocacy
• EU fisheries representation
• Fisheries social dialogue
• Seafood industry lobbying

Headquarters

HQ city

Brussels

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership dues: Europêche is funded through membership fees from national fishing enterprise organizations across EU member states. The association represents the interests of these members in EU policy-making and international fisheries negotiations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Europêche is the Association of National Organizations of Fishing Enterprises in the European Union. It represents the interests of national fishing enterprise organizations across EU member states in EU policy-making, international fisheries negotiations, and social dialogue. The association also develops informational resources, including the iFish.info data portal, the Fishery Speak multilingual safety app, the multilingual Safety Handbook for Fishermen, and an infographics library, alongside coordinating European projects such as Pillars of the Sea and Catching the Potential.

Product overview

Europêche is an industry trade association representing the European fishing industry, not a technology product company. Its offerings consist of informational resources and digital tools rather than a unified product platform. Key offerings include the iFish.info information portal, the Fishery Speak mobile safety glossary app, the multilingual Safety Handbook for Fishermen, an infographics library, and a digital hub for EU Social Dialogue in fisheries. The organization also coordinates European projects including Pillars of the Sea and Catching the Potential, focusing on fisheries sustainability training, safety standards, and social dialogue rather than commercial software products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Fishery Speak App: Interactive multilingual safety glossary app for fishermen covering safety procedures and navigation terminology

Products and services

• iFish.info
• Fishery Speak App
• Safety Handbook for Fishermen
• Infographics Library
• Digital Hub for EU Social Dialogue in Fisheries

Quantifiable outcome

• Representing 4.9 million tonnes annual catch from 87,500 vessels across 23 EU countries
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• European ParliamentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Europêche co-hosts events in European Parliament including seafood showcase receptions and fisheries policy discussions with MEPs to promote sustainable EU seafood and discuss sector priorities.
• ETF (European Transport Workers' Federation)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropêche works with ETF as social dialogue partners in the Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for Sea Fishing, jointly addressing fishers' safety, working conditions, training, and labour rights including initiatives like Pillars of the Sea projects, medical guidelines development, and ILO C188 ratification campaigns.
• Cogeca (Confederation of Agricultural Cooperatives)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropêche collaborates with Cogeca in EU social dialogue for fisheries, particularly on the Social Clause implementation and representing fishing cooperative interests in European policy-making.
• Waste Free OceansminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership focused on marine litter and plastic waste reduction, engaging fishermen in environmental cleanup initiatives.
• Catching the Potential ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEU-funded project spanning 7 EU member states to develop a European standard for sustainability training for fishers. Europêche serves as consortium partner working with fishery schools and training institutes to share experiences and develop pilot courses.
• iFish.infocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInformation portal about the European Fishing Industry providing resources and data on EU fisheries sector, developed as part of sector visibility and communication initiatives.
• SAFEFISHINGcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEU project focused on safety at sea in fisheries sector, developing training tools and promoting best safety practices to reduce accident rates among fishers.
• Market Advisory CouncilminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAdvisory council focused on seafood market issues and market-related policy matters affecting European fisheries.
• Long Distance Advisory Council (LDAC)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerAdvisory council representing long-distance fisheries interests and managing external fishing fleet relationships.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Pelagic Freezer-Trawlers Association (PFA): A Dutch national-level fishing-industry association representing pelagic freezer-trawler operators and a full member of Europêche. It is comparable as a focused national-segment fishing federation engaging in EU policy and quota negotiations, with overlapping personnel in Europêche's leadership.
• Copa (Committee of Professional Agricultural Organisations): The EU-level committee of professional agricultural employers organisations, paired with Cogeca as the joint social partner counterpart for Europêche. It is comparable as an EU sectoral employer federation engaging in social dialogue and policy advocacy in Brussels.
• ETF (European Transport Workers' Federation): The EU-level federation representing transport workers, including fishers, and Europêche's direct counterpart in the EU Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for Sea Fishing. It shares Europêche's Brussels-based sectoral social-dialogue structure and joint agenda on safety, training and labour conditions.
• Cogeca (General Confederation of Agricultural Cooperatives in the European Union): The EU-level confederation for agricultural cooperatives, including fisheries cooperatives, and Europêche's joint social dialogue partner alongside Copa. It mirrors Europêche's role of representing organised producers in EU policy-making and social dialogue.
• FoodDrinkEurope: The EU-level trade association for the food and beverage industry. It is a directly comparable Brussels-anchored sectoral federation that represents downstream seafood and food-industry interests in EU policy, mirroring Europêche's structure and advocacy model.
• CEPESCA (Spanish Fisheries Confederation): The Spanish national confederation of fishing organisations and a member of Europêche, whose Secretary General serves as Europêche's President. It is comparable as a national-level federation performing both domestic and EU-level advocacy for commercial fishing enterprises.

Broad incumbents

• BusinessEurope: The pan-European confederation of employer and business federations. It operates in the same Brussels policy-advocacy space as Europêche but at a much broader industry-wide level, providing an umbrella institutional analogue to Europêche's sectoral role.

Others

• Oceana Europe: The European office of Oceana, an international ocean-conservation advocacy organisation. It is comparable as a Brussels-based advocacy body working on EU fisheries and ocean policy, often on opposing policy positions to Europêche's commercial-fishing constituency.
• Marine Stewardship Council (MSC): An international sustainability-standard and certification body for wild-capture fisheries. It engages with the same fishing-fleet stakeholders and EU policy discussions as Europêche, and increasingly affects market access for member-federation operators through certification requirements.
• Seas At Risk: A Brussels-based coalition of environmental NGOs focused on European marine policy. Although it advocates for often-opposing policy outcomes, it shares Europêche's Brussels policy-engagement model and operates in the same EU Ocean Board and fisheries-policy forums.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/EuropecheOrg
• Facebookfacebook.com/Europeche
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/europeche

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Europêche