Today, Commissioner Maria Damanaki met with the Norwegian Minister for Fisheries and Coastal Affairs, Lisbeth Berg-Hansen.

The EFCA has adopted its annual report for 2011 at the meeting of the Administrative Board held on 15 of March.

Maria Damanaki, Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, on behalf of the European Union, and Lisbehth Berg-Hansen, Minister of Fisheries, on behalf of Norway, have expressed their disappointment and grave concern following the inconclusive outcome of the meeting on mackerel fishery in the North-East Atlantic, held in Reykjavik from 14 to 16 February 2012 between the EU, Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands (the so-called coastal states).

Speech by Commissioner Maria Damanaki at a visit to the European Fisheries Control Agency, Vigo

The European Commission is generally satisfied with the outcome of the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO) Third Preparatory Conference, which just ended in Santiago, Chile.

The EU and Greenland reached agreement today on a new Protocol to implement the EU/Greenland Fisheries Partnership Agreement. This Protocol will enter into force on 1 January 2013 and will be valid for a period of 3 years.

Baltic: a new ecosystem approach; Controls: European Union inspectors; Illegal fishing: DNA as evidence; EFF: taking stock of the territorial approach

A new agreement for the management of shared fish stocks in the North Sea has been concluded between the European Union and Norway after a week of negotiations.

The European Commission tabled today its annual proposal on next year’s guide prices for fresh and frozen fisheries products, and the EU producer price for tuna processing.

The CFCA has adopted its sixth work programme for 2012, the first one within the mandate of his new Executive Director and has elected a new Chairman. Moreover, the budget adopted in the meeting for 2012 is of €9,31million, subject to the definitive adoption of the EU Budget for 2012 by the Budgetary Authority in the coming weeks.

The Agriculture and Fisheries Council will meet in Luxemburg on 20 (starting at 10.00) and 21 October, under the presidency of Mr Marek Sawicki, Polish Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development....

Speech by Commissioner Damanaki at the Seminar High North, Oslo, Norway

Commissioner Maria Damanaki, in charge of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, will meet Norvegian ministers and stakeholders during a two day visit to Norway starting Monday 17 October.

The Community Fisheries Control Agency (CFCA) has just started up a joint deployment plan (JDP) for pelagic fisheries in Western Waters of the North East Atlantic.

Updated version now online

Commissioner Damanaki took part today in the public hearing on "Traceability of fish products in the EU market: rules of origin and labelling", in the European Parliament.

Speech by Commissioner Damanaki at the Public Hearing on "Traceability of fish products in the EU market: rules of origin and labelling", Brussels

Executive summary now online

Low-cost catfish fillets sold as expensive sole fillets or cod caught in the North Sea but declared as originating ...

Speech by Commissioner Damanaki at the SlowFish Opening Conference, Genoa

Updated version now on-line

The Commission has conducted inspections in Italy on 17-21 May 2010, 14-18 June 2010, 4-8 April 2011 and 9-13 May 2011.

Updated version now online

Commissioner for maritime affairs and fisheries, Maria Damanaki today said that she expects Member States to take all necessary measures to ensure full compliance by their vessels during the main fishing season for bluefin tuna, which started on 15 May.

Modern tools for effective control, Study: women in maritime sectors, Discards: new rules on the drawing board

Getting away with fishing illegally will become much more difficult for fishermen, as the EU's new system for fisheries control is now fully operational. With the adoption of detailed rules on how to carry out controls ...

The credibility of the EU's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) depends on an effective enforcement and application of the agreed rules. With the adoption of detailed rules to apply the EU Fisheries Control Regulation, the ...

Speech by Commissioner Damanaki at the press conference

Speech by Commissioner Damanaki at the European Parliament plenary session

Video

A link to regulation no. 202/2011 has been added

Speech by Commissioner Damanaki at the meeting on Common Fisheries Policy at the EC Representation in Berlin, Germany

The Community Fisheries Control Agency (CFCA) based in Vigo, Spain, adopted its annual report for 2010 at the meeting of its Administrative Board held on 15 March.

"Flag State Notification" has been updated

"Flag State Notification" has been updated

"List of approved economic operators" has been added under "additional information".

New page on the website containing lists of fisheries codes and data structure that are relevant for all stakeholders of the fisheries community to record and report fishing activities.

Speech by Commissioner Damanaki at the Committee of Senior Officials of the Adriatic Ionian Initiative, Ancona, Italy

"Requirement of a validated EU catch certificate for transhipment within a non-EU port" has been added.

The European Commission welcomes the decision by the 2nd Preparatory Conference for a South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization which concluded Friday last week in Cali, Colombia, to make a substantial reduction in the TAC for jack mackerel.

The European Commission has tabled its annual proposal on next year’s guide prices for fresh and frozen fisheries products as well as the EU producer price for tuna for processing. The market for fisheries products appears to be recovering, following the dramatic drops in first-sale prices in 2009.

(organised by the Fisheries Committee of the European Parliament)

The Agriculture & Fisheries Council will meet in Brussels on Monday 29 November (starting at 10 a.m.) and (if necessary) Tuesday 30 November. It will be chaired for the Agriculture issues by Mrs Sabine Laruelle, ...

Addendum to and amendment of list of competent authorities in Member States

Speech by Commissioner Maria Damanaki at the Plenary Session of the European Parliament

Video on the European Parliament's website

List of flag state notifications - now including the flag state notification of United Arab Emirates.

Requirement of a validated EU catch certificate for processing activities carried out in a third country, different from the flag State

Additional information on products processed in the flag State to be exported to the EU

The Community Fisheries Control Agency (CFCA) based in Vigo, Spain, has adopted its multiannual work programme for 2011-2015 as well as the annual work programme and budget for 2011.

• List of flag state notifications
• Information note - state of play and summary of main provisions of the IUU Regulation

The following IUU guidance documents have been updated:

• Information note - state of play and summary of main provisions of the IUU Regulation
• Technical note - description of the catch certification scheme
• Cooperation note - possibilities of international cooperation in the fight against IUU fishing and the implementatio of the IUU Regulation.

The European Commission today expressed its grave concern at the unilateral mackerel quota of 85,000 t set by Faeroe Islands for 2010. It pointed out that this level amounted to three times the level of Faeroese traditional quota entitlement under multilateral management arrangements between the EU, Norway and Faeroe Islands in force from 1999 to 2009.

Issue 48 of the magazine Fisheries and aquaculture in Europe focuses on traceability, labelling and certification.

Tomorrow, the European Commission will be holding a large stakeholder seminar focussed on "The Reform of the Market Policy on Fishery and Aquaculture Products".

Today, the Commission has adopted a Regulation to modify the 2010 fishing possibilities for sandeel in the North Sea and Skagerrak.

The European Commission is sending a letter to five member states on the implementation of the Mediterranean Regulation, recalling that all the rules fully apply as from 1 June 2010 while specifying what is further needed from each Member State to make their national management plan operational.

Leaflets and brochures on fisheries control and combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing have been added to the publications page.

Today and tomorrow, the European Commission and the Spanish Presidency are holding two seminars in Madrid on the marketing and supply of fishery and aquaculture products on the EU market.

L'Union européenne s'est déclarée très satisfaite du résultat positif de la réunion de la Commission Mixte entre la République Islamique de Mauritanie et l’Union européenne, tenue à Nouakchott du 21 au 25 mars 2010.

Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Mrs Maria Damanaki made clear yesterday that there will be no postponement in the implementation of the Mediterranean Regulation no. 1967/2006.

Maria Damanaki, European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, arrives in Spain this evening for a three-day visit to Madrid and Vigo. During her visit, the Commissioner will meet with political leaders, industry representatives, shipowners and other stakeholders to gauge their views on a range of issues. She will also meet staff at the Community Fisheries Control Agency, based in Vigo, and see a number of local projects at work.

Strides forward were made last week by the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission for the protection of the fish stocks in the Indian Ocean, such as tropical tunas and shark stocks. The parties agreed among others on an enhanced system for control and compliance, on introducing a time/area closure and on forbidding sharks from the thresher family from being taken or kept on board.

After lengthy consultations over recent months, the European Union and Norway have struck a crucial long-term agreement on mackerel management in the North-East Atlantic, which provides both for stable quota shares and for agreed access arrangements for their respective fleets over a ten-year period.

The European Commission, negotiating on behalf of the European Union, and the Faeroe Islands have agreed on the levels of fishing possibilities in each other's waters, as well as access provisions for blue whiting for 2010.

Why do we need a new control regulation?

The fisheries control regulation in force until now dates back to 1993. It has since been amended a dozen times, in particular in 1998 to include the control of fishing effort, and in 2002 during the last reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).

The European Commission has signed an administrative cooperation agreement with Faroe Islands which marks a new step in the parties' efforts to prevent, deter and eliminate Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

The European Commission has just signed two administrative cooperation agreements with Canada and Iceland which mark a new step in the parties' efforts to prevent, deter and eliminate Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

The European Commission has adopted its annual proposal on next year’s guide prices for fresh and frozen fisheries products as well as the EU producer price for tuna for processing.

Yesterday, the Community Fisheries Control Agency (CFCA) adopted its work programme and budget for 2010.

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is a worldwide phenomenon with disastrous environmental and socio-economic impacts, threatening the sustainable exploitation of living aquatic resources and marine biodiversity. It also has serious overall consequences for coastal countries, which lose out on their marine resources to illegal operators.