On 15 April 2026, the European Parliament Recreational Fisheries and Aquatic Environment Forum organised a networking event inside the European Parliament, dedicated to the EU’s Water Framework Directive’s strategic importance – hosted by Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Niclas Herbst (EPP, Germany).
The event – entitled “Casting for living waters – the Water Framework’s Directive strategic importance for the EU’s recreational fisheries sector” brought together policymakers, stakeholders, and representatives of the recreational fisheries sector to discuss the strategic importance of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) for Europe’s aquatic ecosystems and the communities & businesses that depend on them, incl. the EU’s recreational fisheries sector.
The event was organised in the context of the Commission’s announcement – under the ResourceEU Action Plan – to “review and revise the Water Framework Directive building on stakeholders’ input and experiences in Member States”.
MEP Ingeborg ter Laak (EPP, The Netherlands) and MEP Bruno Tobback (S&D, Belgium) officially launched the event with opening remarks, sharing their views on the Water Framework Directive and the role stakeholders – including the recreational fisheries sector – have in this file.
MEP Bruno Tobback (S&D, Belgium) added that “water is essential for our health, safety, recreational and dependent economic activities – therefore it’s essential for our future…The Water Framework Directive is not a regulatory burden but protects this public good of freshwater resources…(and) We need to be more proactive & decisive in making sure Europe reaches the WFD targets to protect this common good – which also is an important element for the socio-economic activity generated by the recreational fisheries sector.”
Mark Owen, President of the European Anglers Alliance (EAA), stated:
“For Europe’s 25 million anglers, healthy freshwater ecosystems are not an abstract objective — they are the foundation of our activity and our contribution to local economies…. the link is clear: clean water means healthy fish and successful fish migration, and strong environmental standards mean a sustainable future for the angling experience”
“All this makes strong enforcement and political commitment to the Water Framework Directive more important than ever. The European Anglers Alliance therefore calls for a strong, strict and full implementation of the Directive — rather than a revision.”
Gerard Bakkenes, Chair of the European Fishing Tackle and Trade Association (EFTTA), added:
“From a business perspective, recreational angling is a powerful driver of economic and industrial development across Europe…High-quality freshwater ecosystems lead not only to more attractive angling experiences but also translate into an increased demand for angling equipment, and a higher turnover for tackle shops, manufacturers and other companies in the sector’s value chain”.
“To unlock the full socio-economic potential of the tackle industry, we need abundant fish stocks, restored rivers, happy anglers, and healthy freshwater ecosystems—exactly what the EU’s Water Framework Directive is designed to deliver.”
MEP Isabella Lövin (The Greens/EFA, Sweden) closed the official part of the event by thanking the EU recreational fisheries sector of being the voice and guardians of the Water Framework Directive – as this legislative framework provides benefits for both the EU economy but also for communities and EU citizens throughout the continent. The Water Framework Directive’s purpose is to connect both salt and freshwater ecosystems – allowing fish migration, healthy rivers and living communities.
“I recently visited the river Testeboån in Sweden – which is the only example where we managed to rehabilitate a wild salmon river with salmon migrating again into the river. This is a result of implementation of the Water Framework Directive but also thanks to people and organisations caring for fish, rivers and their ecosystems services – like the European recreational fisheries community.”
With the event, the European Anglers Alliance (EAA) and the European Fishing Tackle and Trade Association (EFTTA) reaffirmed their commitment to engaging constructively with EU institutions in the context of the ongoing work on the Water Framework Directive’s review & revision.
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About the event
You can read more about the event on this page. The agenda of the event can be downloaded here.
The European Commission announced in its ResourceEU Action Plan (December 2025) to “review and revise the EU’s Water Framework Directive (WFD) in Q2 of 2026…paying particular attention to simplification…to promote circularity and access to critical raw materials in the EU”.
The Water Framework Directive is a cornerstone of EU environmental law. The directive aims at achieving good status of European rivers, lakes, streams, wetlands, groundwater, and transitional and coastal waters. They are the very environments on which fish populations (and thus the angling experience) depends.
The WFD has driven efforts to:
- reduce pollution
- restore river continuity; and
- improve the ecological status of Europe’s waters.
For the EU’s angling community, the link is clear, clean water means healthy fish, restored river connectivity means successful fish migration and strong environmental standards mean sustainable angling opportunities for future generations.
In this respect, the European Recreational Fisheries sector call for a strong, strict and full implementation of the Water Framework Directive – rather than a revision.
About the RecFishing Forum
The Forum on Recreational Fisheries and Aquatic Environment (RecFishing Forum) was created in 2014, at the beginning of the 8th parliamentary term of the European Parliament. By providing a cross-party discussion platform, the Forum has been an essential tool for the Members of the European Parliament to establish a direct connection with the recreational fishing community, its network of scientists, in-house experts, and other representatives of the sector to gather knowledge, information and data on the topics that were discussed in the European Parliament.
More information about the Forum here.
The Secretariat of the Forum is provided by two associations working together: the European Anglers Alliance (EAA) and the European Fishing Tackle Trade Association (EFTTA). Both associations work at the EU level and beyond to improve the aquatic environment, to achieve sustainable management of the fish stocks and to protect and promote recreational angling (rod and line fishing) in Europe. They also advocate for recreational fisheries to be managed in a fair and equitable way with respect to the other fisheries sectors.
(c) 2026 – FNPF/Aliénor
