Brussels bans lead in fishing tackle from 2027 with staged phase-outs

The European Commission has banned the placing on the market and the professional use of lead in certain fishing tackle at concentrations equal to or greater than 1 % by weight. The measure is contained in Commission Regulation (EU) 2026/2501 of 12 November 2026, published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJ L, 13 November 2026, document 2026/2501), which amends Annex XVII to the EU chemicals regulation REACH.

The new rules enter into force on the twentieth day after publication, that is 3 December 2026, and are binding in their entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. The regulation was signed in Brussels on 12 November by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and adds new paragraphs 21 to 27 to entry 63 of Annex XVII to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006, the entry that already covers lead (CAS No 7439-92-1, EC No 231-100-4) and that was last tightened in 2021 for gunshot in and around wetlands.

A staggered calendar for sinkers, lures and wires

The prohibition applies both to sale and to use in professional fishing, but not identically for every product. The calendar is:

• From 3 March 2027: fishing wires and drop-in sinkers, of any weight.
• From 3 December 2029: sinkers and lures weighing 50 g or less.
• From 3 December 2031: sinkers and lures weighing 1 kg or less but more than 50 g.

Two categories fall outside the scope. Sinkers weighing more than 1 kg are excluded because the Commission considers they are not at risk of being ingested by birds, and so are weights that are enclosed, embedded or threaded in a fishing net or a line. The use restriction covers only commercial fishing, defined in the text as fishing for profit and not for recreational purposes; the marketing ban, by contrast, covers tackle sold for any fishing, professional or recreational.

Warning labels in every shop and online offer

Retailers of sinkers and lures containing 1 % or more lead by weight must, from 3 March 2027, display a warning clearly and visibly at the point of sale and close to the products or, in the case of distance sales, in the distance sales offer. The prescribed text states that the product contains lead “which is very toxic to the environment and may damage fertility or the unborn child”, and lists the three phase-out dates, pointing consumers to ECHA for information on lead-free alternatives. The notice must be in the official languages of the Member State where the shop is established or where the distance sale is offered.

Two narrow derogations, reviewed after ten years

The regulation keeps two exceptions, both subject to review. Lures made of copper alloys with a lead concentration below 3 % by weight remain allowed, to avoid costly changes to machinery for brass lures, the most common alternative, which currently contain between 1 % and 3 % lead. Split shot weighing 0.06 g or less is also exempt, provided it is placed on the market in spill-proof and child-resistant packaging. Both derogations must be reviewed by the Commission after 3 December 2036, on the basis of a report by the European Chemicals Agency.

The text adds two further safeguards: use of sinkers and lures already placed on the Union market before 3 December 2029 and 3 December 2031 respectively remains permitted, to avoid waste, and Member States may keep national provisions stricter than the new paragraphs where those rules were in force on 3 December 2026 and restrict only use, not marketing. Governments must send the text of such provisions to the Commission, which will publish them.

Seven million birds at risk

The scientific case dates back to a Commission request to ECHA on 16 July 2019 and the Annex XV dossier published on 24 March 2021, followed by the opinions of the Agency’s Committee for Risk Assessment on 2 June 2022 and its Committee for Socio-Economic Analysis on 2 December 2022, submitted to the Commission on 27 February 2023. The Agency estimated that continued releases would put about 876 000 tonnes of lead into the environment over 20 years and place at least 7 million birds at risk of poisoning from ingested sinkers and lures. The restriction is expected to cut emissions by some 630 000 tonnes, 48 300 of them from fishing tackle, a 72 % reduction, and to prevent IQ loss in about 7 000 children a year. The Commission also invokes the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals and its 2014 guidelines on preventing poisoning of migratory birds.

For the industry, the countdown is now fixed: manufacturers of wires and drop-in sinkers have just over three months before the marketing ban bites, while retailers must prepare multilingual point-of-sale warnings from the same date and fishermen must retire existing lead tackle as the weight categories expire through 2029 and 2031.

Source: Official Journal of the European Union, L series, 13 November 2026, 2026/2501 (official reference: Commission Regulation (EU) 2026/2501, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2026/2501/oj).