2012 will be marked not only as the year that will host Rio+20 Conference on sustainable development, but also as the one when young people across Europe stand up for changes in the European Fisheries Policy and make a difference for the future of environmental well-being around the world.

Every single sphere of social relations has its own regulators. Fishery, not being an exception from the rule, has its own, which was formed in 1983, it is called the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). Since social relations are constantly changing, the regulators that are expected to manage them have to adapt to the new conditions presented by ever changing global conditions. The CFP by turn is subject to review every 10 years. The last such review was conducted in 2002 and the new CFP will be enforced from 2012 on. This is the year for another reassessment of the main regulations of our fishing practices on our continent.

It shall be noted, however, that the process of review of the CFP in 2012 has some characteristic features which separate it from previous revisions. It is influenced foremost by the changes that were introduced by the Lisbon Treaty which came into force in 2009. In particular, the treaty enlarged the number of actors capable of making decisions on the CFP by means of including in it members of the European Parliament. The process has been made more democratic including a wider range of Europe's diverse society.
This is exactly the point from where OCEAN2012 campaign kicks off. The mission of the campaign is to ensure that the 2012 reform of the EU Common Fisheries Policy stops overfishing, ends destructive fishing practices and delivers fair and equitable use of healthy fish stocks for future generations. The campaign mission is expected to be carried out and supported by all the interested people, but particular hope is placed on youth organizations who are objectively the most active and influential representatives of European civil society as they have the most to both lose and gain.

The main advantage of the campaign is that everyone can be involved regardless of their physical location, number of members in their organization or financial resources at their disposal. The only prerequisite for being involved is to have a desire to do so. All the other information on ways of involvement may be found at the official web-page of the OCEAN2012 website ocean2012.eu or by getting in touch with representatives of YEE engaged in the campaign.

So far OCEAN2012 has support of 158 organizations from all over Europe and beyond. But in order to have a robust impact on CFP the campaign needs even greater assistance, which means any new member are more than welcome join in order to raise awareness and spread this message to as many ears as possible.

The importance of the issue of over fishing cannot be overstated, it is a major threat financially, economically and culturally, one which if not properly looked after could have a wide ranging impact on European life as we know it.

20% of the current fish stocks are under threat of extinction and it is now high time to take concrete steps and actions to avoid further unsustainable exploitation and damage. If we do not act now, the future of our sea stocks will be destroyed. Plain and simple. Europe needs to act, we need to act. Spread the word, bring Ocean2012 up in discussion, write an article, petition your EU representative, join in local actions and enjoy the sea and all it has to offer.

We look forward to getting in touch with you and to our fruitful cooperation.

Yours faithfully,

YEE "Fishery" Team