PARIS — The European Union on Thursday agreed to an overhaul of the region's fisheries policy, a deal intended to make commercial fishing more sustainable.

While officials hailed it as a landmark agreement, some environmentalists said the deal might not be ambitious enough.

The agreement, the first overhaul of the Common Fisheries Policy since 2002, was reached early Thursday by Maria Damanaki, the European fisheries commissioner; Ulrike Rodust, a German member of the European Parliament; and Simon Coveney, the Irish fisheries minister, on behalf of the European Union's 27 national fishing ministries. The deal requires the consent of all 27 member countries of the European Union, but their approval is expected.

"This is a historic step for all those involved in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors," Ms. Damanaki said in a statement. "We are going to change radically the way we fish in the future."

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