Commissioner Maria Damanaki, in charge of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, visits Romania and Bulgaria on 29 and 30 March, respectively, to discuss maritime and fisheries-related issues and cooperation in the Black Sea basin.

Speech by Commissioner Maria Damanaki at the Symposium "A Blueprint for Oceans and Coasts" at the European Parliament

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

A delegation of the European Commission and a delegation of the Union of Comoros met within the framework of the Joint Committee to discuss issues linked to the implementation of the Fisheries partnership agreement between the EU and the Union of Comoros.

Speech by Commissioner Damanaki at the Conference on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fisheries at John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Washington

The European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Maria Damanaki is currently visiting the USA. She will be in Washington DC until 9 September 2011.

A historic statement pledging bilateral cooperation to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, known as IUU fishing, will be signed today in Washington by Maria Damanaki, ...

Updated version now online

Introductory remarks by Commissioner Damanaki at the GLOBE World Oceans Day Forum, London

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

Updated version now online

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

The 15th Plenary Session of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 18 to 22 March. A three-day meeting of the IOTC Compliance Committee had preceded the plenary. The Plenary outcome was rather disappointing for the EU. While...

Speech by Commissioner Damanaki at the seminar of the ALDE (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe) Group of the European Parliament

"Flag State Notification" has been updated

"Flag State Notification" has been updated

Speech by Commissioner Damanaki at the European Parliament plenary session

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

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

Speech by Commissioner Maria Damanaki at the 6th International Forum on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing

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

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

• 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 will represent the EU at the annual meeting of the IATTC which starts today and goes on to 1 October 2010 in Antigua, Guatemala.

The European Union is now a signatory to an important regional fisheries management convention which, once it enters into force, will ensure that fishing from western Australia to South America is subject to agreed international rules.

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

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.

Last week, the European Commission signed two administrative cooperation agreements with New Zealand and the United States which mark a new step in the parties' efforts to prevent, deter and eliminate Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

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.