29 September 2026
THE 33-METRE MEASURE: BLOOM calls for the scrapping of vessels over 33 metres in length to put an end to mega-industrial devastation
29 September 2026
As the European Union prepares to vote on its budget for the next seven years, BLOOM is unveiling a groundbreaking campaign to secure the dismantling of a segment of the fleet that accounts for just 1% of European vessels but is responsible for the majority of the damage inflicted on the ocean and the fishing industry: vessels over 33 metres in length. This ‘Maximum Tolerable Length’, proposed to policy-makers for the first time anywhere in the world, has been scientifically identified by analysing various parameters, notably the distance between fishing operations and the fleets’ home ports. Mega-industrial vessels thus operate on average 4,000 km from their port of registration and 84% of them use gear with a high environmental impact, such as trawls.
See our full campaign press kit
BLOOM’s campaign is based on two exclusive publications: a scientific report entitled ‘33 metres: The Maximum Tolerable Length’, and a book to be published on 30 September by Les Liens qui Libèrent entitled Reprendre La mer1 (Reclaim the Ocean), co-authored by BLOOM’s founder Claire Nouvian, the philosopher Baptiste Morizot and the world-renowned ocean expert Professor Daniel Pauly.
BLOOM is calling for the dismantling of the 638 vessels over 33 metres in length, which are destroying far more than just the ocean: 99% of fishers, as well as democracy, through powerful lobbying that runs counter to the public interest. One in seven vessels in this 1% segment of mega-industrial giants is implicated in a case of fraud, illegal fishing or corruption. BLOOM’s study highlights that without the public subsidies on which mega-industrial fleets are structurally dependent, the devastation would cease immediately.
The demands of BLOOM working to preserve the ocean and ensure the survival of the fishing sector in Europe are being put forward in the form of amendments as part of the budget reform by several MEPs, including the French MEPs David Cormand (The Greens/EELV) and Emma Fourreau (The Left/LFI) sitting in the European Parliament.
The coming quarter will be decisive and is undoubtedly one of the last opportunities to save what remains of Europe’s fisheries and marine ecosystems. Indeed, negotiations on the next ‘Multiannual Financial Framework’ (MFF) have begun in Brussels, and for the period 2028–2034, between €3.5 and €7 billion could be earmarked for the fisheries sector.
It is in the context of this key budgetary reform that BLOOM has examined the thorny issue of the tolerance threshold that society should adopt with regard to destructive activities, particularly those impacting living organisms and natural resources. BLOOM’s researchers have identified the point at which large-scale fishing operations – funded and encouraged by the European Union – destroy more social, biological and economic wealth than they produce, thereby introducing the new concept of ‘maximum tolerable length’ (MTL) for the ocean. This MTL has been set at 33 metres. Above 33 metres, vessels employ the most destructive fishing practices: 84% use towed gear (trawls or seines) and spend 50% of their fishing time outside European waters, at an average distance of 4,000 km. Yet these mega-vessels account for only 1% of the fleet – 638 vessels at EU level – and are the ones that receive the most subsidies whilst catching half of the fish.
When it comes to these factory ships, there are three key challenges: putting an end to the funding of a loss-making model, safeguarding jobs and ensuring our food sovereignty. The issue is not merely the fundamental one of protecting the ocean; it is also about preserving the very conditions that enable the fishing industry to exist: since 2017, the European fishing industry has lost 25% of its full-time jobs, even though small-scale artisanal fishing generates up to four times more added value than larger vessels and ten times more jobs per tonne of fish landed.
As the three authors of the book Reprendre La mer note: ‘We propose, for once, to put European taxpayers’ money to good use – and for the last time in this regard – to fund the dismantling of vessels thirty-three metres in length or more. Instead of paying every year for a “Titanic”-like fleet that is dragging an entire sector down with it.’