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Amid continued debate over marine spaces, the question of who leads and shapes action has never been more critical to answer. The European Union’s (EU) Ocean Act presents a crucial opportunity to change the future of Europe’s seas equitably and sustainably, and lessons can be learnt from small-scale fishers thousands of kilometers away in West Africa. Ghana faces immense economic pressures, and despite access to far less financial and scientific resources than the EU, the government has committed to strong protection of its coastal waters. It extended its Preferential Access Area (PAA) from six to 12 nautical miles, granting exclusive fishing access to local, small-scale fishers while barring destructive vessels, namely trawlers, from coastal waters. Real-world evidence shows that well-enforced PAAs, where bottom trawling is prohibited, strengthen the resilience of small-scale fleets, accelerate fish stock recovery and protect coastal livelihoods. Meanwhile, despite its global leadership in fighting illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and its repeated commitments to global ocean protection, the EU continues to allow industrial bottom trawlers near-unfettered access to coastal waters. This comes at the direct expense of coastal communities and small-scale fishers who represent the vast majority of Europe’s fishing fleet. Recent research highlights how a small group of large commercial owners, acting through fishing industry associations, has opposed stronger seabed protection in Brussels by questioning the science and warning of socio-economic disruption. Yet real-world evidence shows that well-enforced PAAs, where bottom trawling is prohibited, strengthen the resilience of small-scale fleets, accelerate fish stock recovery and protect coastal livelihoods. Ghana may not offer Europe a ready-made blueprint for preferential access, but the country’s experience demonstrates that governments can make significant policy changes when the voices of affected communities, evidence and objective political leadership come together. A decade on the frontlines — CaFGOAG’s story In Ghana, small-scale fisheries are not simply an occupation; they are the foundation of coastal communities. In contrast to destructive trawl fleets, they are among the most energy-efficient animal-sourced food production systems, with low environmental impacts and outsized economic and social value. Yet fishers are experiencing declining catches, increasing costs and competition from industrial trawlers. Industrial fishing, such as bottom trawling, has been a major driver of this decline, particularly through the “saiko” fish trade, where trawlers harvest juvenile and small pelagic species and illegally transship them at sea into adapted canoes for onward sale at local markets. Our experience has demonstrated that political and economic complexity must never be an excuse for inaction. The consequences extend beyond individual fishers: fish processors, traders and economies are devastated, with women feeling the impact most severely when landings crash. For the Canoe and Fishing Gear Owners Association of Ghana (CaFGOAG), the fundamental issue is not simply competition between fishing methods, but whether marine resources are managed to protect the ecological foundations of life at sea and protect livelihoods for coastal communities. For over a decade, CaFGOAG has consistently called for stronger protection of Ghana’s inshore waters through an expanded PAA. Our experience has demonstrated that political and economic complexity must never be an excuse for inaction. Instead, it underscores the need for meaningful dialogue, robust evidence and direct participation of the people whose livelihoods are closely connected to the marine resources. Small-scale fishers are central to Ghana’s progress. The case for extending the PAA was rooted in lived experience: fishers know their fishing grounds, seasonal patterns, changes in fish availability and the practical consequences of industrial fishing activity, in ways that complement scientific information. It is paramount that fishers and their communities are directly involved in policy discussions, with community knowledge considered alongside scientific evidence. This approach, supported by the Transform Bottom Trawling Coalition and its members, such as Oceana and Blue Ventures, has helped advance efforts to promote PAAs in Ghana, Brazil, the Philippines and elsewhere. Ghana’s progress toward extending the PAA from six to 12 nautical miles is a milestone for small-scale fishers worldwide. It now joins a growing list of countries that have adopted, or are in the process of adopting, similar measures. The view from Portugal — MARSEMPRE’s story Portugal is facing many of the same pressures. In Ferragudo, in the Algarve, Marsempre was established in 2021 to defend the village’s maritime cultural heritage and champion reform toward a more sustainable sea. © OCEANA / Gorka Leclercq Marsempre began pushing for stronger protection of the village’s fishing grounds after a major conflict, when an aquaculture project risked livelihoods by considerably reducing the fishing grounds. Since then, Marsempre has successfully worked with other stakeholders to create a national marine park in Pedra do Valado, which is also in the Algarve. It also continues to fight for the safeguard measures agreed with all local fishing associations, including extending the PAA for fishing vessels with low-impact fishing gear (traditional fleet) from six to eight nautical miles from the coast and to ban bottom trawling. Restricting industrial fleets from coastal waters is not just an environmental measure; it is a vital lifeline for small-scale fishers, local food security and coastal economies. For communities like Ferragudo, where small six-to-eight-meter boats using low-impact gear such as gillnets and octopus traps depend on access to nearby fishing grounds, extending this protected area would help safeguard the space and livelihoods of the local artisanal fleet. Caution, protectionism of the status quo and the heavy influence of industrial lobbies frequently paralyze political action. But change is urgently needed. Lessons for the EU By embedding PAAs into member states’ maritime spatial plans, EU leaders can grant priority access to small-scale, low-impact fishers within territorial seas while strictly prohibiting destructive practices like industrial bottom trawling. Restricting industrial fleets from coastal waters is not just an environmental measure; it is a vital lifeline for small-scale fishers, local food security and coastal economies, including sustainable tourism and recreation. It is a chance to reframe coastal waters as a public good rather than a zone for competing industrial exploitation. Momentum is already building: Ireland is set to protect its six-nautical-mile coastal zone, while fishing organisations in France, Cyprus and other EU states are advancing similar proposals. The Ocean Act can accelerate this progress and support Europe’s small-scale fisheries and coastal seas in recovering and thriving together. Disclaimer POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENT The sponsor is Blue Ventures. The advertisement relates to EU fisheries and ocean policy and advocates for stronger protection of coastal waters, priority access for small-scale fishers and restrictions on industrial bottom trawling through the EU Ocean Act and national maritime planning. More information here.

Earlier this year, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent offered some avuncular counsel to Western allies at Davos, weary of being belittled and trolled by President Donald Trump and his advisers: “Sit back, take a deep breath, do not retaliate,” he urged. “Let things play out.” His remarks focused primarily on tariffs, but at the Swiss Alpine gabfest, Bessent and other Trump aides repeated the same advice on almost everything concerning the U.S. president. And on the whole, the leaders of Washington’s allies heeded their warning, even as they struggled to contain their outrage over Trump’s threats to invade Greenland.  For Gavin Newsom, the Trump-bashing California governor who was also at Davos, it was all too much. The world leaders in attendance were “pathetic,” he said. “I can’t take this complicity of people rolling over. I should have brought a bunch of knee pads for all the world leaders.” Since then, however, things have moved on — especially for Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and French President Emmanuel Macron, who have both been giving as good as they get in recent weeks. Amid rising trade tensions and differences with the White House over Russia, they haven’t hesitated to escalate when attacked, sometimes even taunting Trump without immediate provocation. Carney and Macron have become the “leaders of the resistance,” said Rohinton Medhora, the Canadian economist and professor at McGill University who has dubbed Carney’s evolving political vision as “value-based realism.” Medhora, who sits on various international and Canadian commissions, said: “They’ve tried flattery. They’ve tried ignoring him. Nothing’s worked, and they are not losing out now with their retaliatory trolling.” Carney may have lectured the Trump administration “to stop doing memes, stop throwing shade and stop trying to be tough,” but that hasn’t stopped him from offering public mockery of his own.  The Canadian prime minister’s freewheeling swipes have included teasing Trump for claiming “sabotage” after his teleprompter malfunctioned during an address to the United Nations last year. Experiencing a similar technical hiccup in Toronto, Carney deadpanned: “I would now like to inform you that the teleprompter has ceased to function. Unlike a certain world leader, I do not view this as a conspiracy.” And in Ottawa, Carney drew both applause and laughter by mimicking Trump’s signature “accordion” hand gestures. So, what’s going on? And are there any risks to poking the bear? According to former White House strategist and current MAGA influencer and podcaster Steve Bannon, there is. “They’re playing with fire,” he told POLITICO. “They’re totally dependent on us for trade.” He also added a dark warning about “the Alberta secession movement picking up momentum” — Bannon and other MAGA luminaries have been encouraging the oil-rich Canadian province to break away. Bannon also cited the deal Trump recently struck with Denmark and Greenland as an example of U.S. power and Washington’s ability to get what it wants. “Our Greenland deal shows the reality of Canada’s inability to defend itself from being the next Ukraine — this time in the Arctic,” he said. But Ivo Daalder, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO, draws a different lesson from the Greenland deal, which extends an earlier agreement dating from 1951 and does not give Trump control of the island, as he said he wanted. For Daalder, this deal shows that when allies stand their ground, the U.S. president backs down. “With that deal Trump literally got nothing,” he told POLITICO. Donald Trump, Macron and Carney attend a working lunch during the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France on June 16, 2026. | Pool photo by Evelyn Hockstein via Getty Images “I think what’s happening is the allies are starting to understand how to play him,” said Daalder. “Now they’re ignoring his bluster, and do and say what they think is important for their own good. By doing so, they have as good a chance as any in getting what they want.” It’s also not surprising that Macron was quicker to taunt Trump than other Western leaders, said Daalder. “He’s French, after all.” Even during the first Trump presidency, Macron was willing to go mano a mano with the U.S. president, squeezing his counterpart’s hand in a handshake until their knuckles turned white and refusing to let go even when Trump tried to pull away. But the French president’s tone seems sharper now, his actions even more pointed. Fort his, Daalder points to Macron’s maneuvering of Trump this June into inking an interim deal with Iran at Versailles — a palace infamous for a treaty that ended one world war but led to another. Macron, Trump’s critics trumpeted, had pulled off an epic diplomatic “troll.” What audiences are these two leaders trying to reach and influence? “That’s a good question,” said Medhora. “It is clearly not Americans.” And there’s certainly a domestic component, as both men are scoring political points by standing up to a man they portray as a bully. But Medhora believes there is likely a broader, more strategic, aspect to their posturing. “By doing these things very publicly, they’re encouraging other leaders to overcome their hesitation and join them,” he said. “And if others come along, then everyone is stronger in the anti-Trump camp.” But that’ll only work if they can do it with serious consequence — and there’s always a chance that it could all backfire. Perhaps with Trump facing a likely setback in the U.S. midterm elections, Carney and Macron would be better off taking Bessent’s advice and letting things play out, as the U.S. leader may emerge from the vote facing new constraints from emboldened Democrats. But, for now, both seem to be having far too much fun poking the bear to do that. 

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