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The General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) will meet in Morocco, Marrakesh from 14 to 19 May 2012. The European Commission represents the EU at the meeting.

Keynote address by Lowri Evans, Director General, Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries at the European Parliament

Speech by Commissioner Damanaki at the Conference "New Challenges and Opportunities facing Marine Fisheries Science", London, United Kingdom

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.

Thanks to the continued commitment of the European Union to follow scientific advice and its close cooperation with partner countries, the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO) adopted science-based, precautionary measures...

The fishing sector, NGOs, national administrations, EU institutions and interested members of the public are invited to participate in a discussion on the status of European fish stocks and on corresponding appropriate management measures to be undertaken.

The European Commission today proposed fishing opportunities for anchovy fishing in the Bay of Biscay for the season 1 July 2011 - 30 June 2012.

Today, the EU Ministers met in the framework of the Fisheries Council, in Luxembourg to discuss the Commission's Communication on the Consultation on Fishing Opportunities for 2012, published on 25 May.

Speech by Commissioner Damanaki at the Fisheries Council, Luxembourg

The Agriculture and Fisheries Council will meet in Luxembourg on Tuesday 28 June, under the presidency of Mr Sandor Fazekas, Hungarian Minister of Rural Development. Maritime Affairs & Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki, ...

Two recent reports by the European Commission add further weight to calls for significant structural change within the EU fish catching sector and a far reaching reform of the Common Fisheries ...

Today the European Commission published its report on progress achieved in the Common Fisheries Policy over the last few years and its suggestions for fishing opportunities in EU waters in 2012....

Speech by Commissioner Damanaki at the European Parliament - Greens/EFA Group Hearing: "How much fish can be safely caught?"

New study on-line

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...

After more than a decade of ineffective measures to ensure the sustainability of the redfish fisheries in the Irminger Sea (waters between Iceland and Greenland in the NEAFC Convention Area), the Coastal States (Faroe Islands, Greenland and Iceland) along with the European Union and Norway reached agreement in Reykjavik on 17 March on multi-annual interim conservation and management measures for deep and shallow pelagic redfish in the Irminger Sea. These measures, based on an EU proposal, will be applied with immediate effect.

Speech by Commissioner Damanaki at the meeting of the Employers' Group of the European Economic and Social Committee 

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 regrets the inability of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) to agree on a new and effective approach to managing tropical tunas at its 7th annual meeting in Honolulu from 6 to 10 December.

The Agriculture & Fisheries Council will meet in Brussels on Monday 13 (starting at 9.30 a.m.) and Tuesday 14 December. It will be chaired for the Agriculture issues by Mrs Sabine Laruelle,...

The European Commission has tabled its proposal on fishing possibilities for fish stocks in the Black Sea for 2011.

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

Video on the European Parliament's website

What are TACs and quotas?
A TAC – which stands for total allowable catch – is a legal limit on the overall amount of fish of a particular species that can be taken from the sea in a given area and brought ashore over a specified period (usually one year). A quota is a share of the TAC that can be fished by one Member State.

The European Commission has adopted its fishing opportunities proposal for 2011 setting levels of total allowable catch (TAC) and fishing effort for the Atlantic, the North Sea, and international waters regulated ...

Speech by Commissioner Maria Damanaki at the Symposium on "Improved Fisheries and Science Partnerships as Policy Drivers", Ostend (Belgium)

It has been for several years now that the state of the bluefin tuna stock remains a cause for major concern. Despite the efforts made so far, in particular by the EU, and the progress achieved, there are still open questions regarding how we can ensure the long sustainability of the species. This, in turn, is the only way by which our fishermen can keep on with their activity.

The European Commission proposes not to grant increases in fishing opportunities for deep-sea fish in EU waters and in international waters of the North-East Atlantic for 2011-2012 until positive trends in the abundance ...
What are TACs and Quotas? Ideally, fishing activities would take from each stock no more fish than can safely be removed without inhibiting the stock's capacity to spawn and to bring in young fish to the stock. ...
The European Commission has tabled its proposal on fishing possibilities for fish stocks in the Baltic Sea for 2011. Based on scientific advice, the Commission proposes increased fishing opportunities for Baltic ...

European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Maria Damanaki, will open a one-day seminar on the state of fish stocks in European waters tomorrow.

On 14 September, European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Maria Damanaki, will open a one-day seminar on the state of fish stocks in European waters.

The final report is on-line
Improving the knowledge of the biology and the fisheries of the new species for management

The European Commission today proposed a total allowable catch (TAC) of 15 600 tonnes of anchovy in the Bay of Biscay for the fishing season 1 July 2010 - 30 June 2011.

WebGR - Web services for support of growth and reproduction studies

The Commission is looking for approximately 25 experts to the Marine Observation and Data Expert Group. The experts will be appointed in a personal capacity for a period of three years. Deadline for applications: 30 July 2010.
Today the European Commission published its report launching discussions on fishing opportunities in EU waters in 2011....

What are TACs and Quotas?

Ideally, fishing activities would take from each stock no more fish than can safely be removed without inhibiting the stock's capacity to spawn and to bring in young fish to the stock.

Speech by Commissioner Joe Borg at the opening of the ICES Annual Science Conference, Berlin, 21 September 2009
The European Commission tabled yesterday its proposal on fishing possibilities for fish stocks in the Baltic Sea for 2010. Scientific advice has shown that cod stocks are recovering, but that the Western herring stock still gives rise to serious concern.
The European Commission today adopted a proposal for a long-term plan to manage the anchovy stock in the Bay of Biscay.
Today, the European Commission adopted the first ever EU Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks.
Why is the Commission launching an Action Plan for Sharks?
Shark fisheries have been growing rapidly since the mid-1980s, mainly driven by rapidly expanding demand from Asian markets.

Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF)

The implementation of the CFP requires the assistance of highly qualified scientific personnel, particularly in the fields of marine biology, marine ecology, fisheries science, fishing gear technology and fishery economics. For that purpose the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) was established by Commission Decision 93/619/EC, renewed in 2005 by Commission Decision 2005/629/EC , amended by Commission Decision (2010/74/EC) and Commission Decision (2012/C 72/06).

The Members of the STECF are nominated by the Commission from highly qualified scientific persons having competence in these fields. The term of a Member of the Committee is 3 years and is renewable. The current list of STECF Members was adopted on 27 October 2010.

List of scientists appointed as members of the STECF

MemberInstitute
1. ABELLA AlvaroAgenzia Regionale per la Protezione Ambientale della Toscana — Risorse Idriche, Firenze
2. ANDERSEN JesperUniversity of Copenhagen — Institute of Food and Resource Economics (FOI), Copenhagen
3. BAILEY NicholasFisheries Research Services — Marine Laboratory, Aberdeen
4. BERTIGNAC MichelIfremer — Département STH, laboratoire de biologie halieutique, Brest
5. CARDINALE MassimilianoFiskeriverket, Havsfiskelaboratoriet — Swedish Board of Fisheries — Institute of Marine Research, Lysekil
6. CASEY JohnCentre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft
7. CURTIS HazelSea Fish Industry Authority, Edinburgh
8. DASKALOV GeorgiBulgarian Academy of Sciences — Central Laboratory of General Ecology, Sofia
9. DELANEY AlyneAalborg University Research Centre — Innovative Fisheries Management, Hirtshals
10. DÖRING RalfFederal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries — Institute of Sea Fisheries, Hamburg

11. GARCIA RODRIGUEZ Mariano

Instituto Español de Oceanografía — Departamento de Pesca, Madrid
12. GASCUEL DidierAgrocampus Ouest — Fisheries and Aquatic Centre, Rennes
13. GRAHAM NormanIrish Marine Institute — Fisheries Science Service, Galway
14. GUSTAVSSON ToreSwedish Board of Fisheries, Göteborg
15. JENNINGS SimonCentre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft

16. KENNY Andrew

Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft
17. KIRKEGAARD EskildTechnical University of Denmark — National Institute of Aquatic Resources, Charlottenlund
18. KRAAK Sarah(School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences) University College Cork, Ireland
19. KUIKKA SakariUniversity of Helsinki — Department of Biosciences, Helsinki
20. MALVAROSA LorettaIstituto Ricerche Economiche per la Pesca e l'Acquacoltura, Salerno
21. MARTIN PalomaConsejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas — Instituto de Ciencias del Mar, Barcelona
22. MOTOVA ArinaLithuanian Institute of Agrarian Economics, Vilnius

23. MURUA Hilario

AZTI Tecnalia — Unidad de Investigación Marina, Sukarietta
24. NORD JennySwedish Board of Fisheries — Department of Fisheries Control, Göteborg
25. NOWAKOWSKI PiotrWest Pomeranian University of Technology — Faculty of Food Science and Fisheries, Department of Fishing Technique, Szczecin
26. PRELLEZO RaúlAZTI Tecnalia — Unidad de Investigación Marina, Sukarietta
27. SALA AntonelloConsiglio Nazionale della Ricerche — Istituto di Scienze Marine, Ancona
28. SCARCELLA GiuseppeConsiglio Nazionale della Ricerche — Istituto di Scienze Marine, Ancona
29. SIMMONDS Edmund JohnPrivate consultant
30. SOMARAKIS StylianosHellenic Centre for Marine Research, Heraklion
31. STRANSKY ChristophFederal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries — Institute of Sea Fisheries, Hamburg
32. THERET FrançoisIfremer — Laboratoire de technologie des pêches, Lorient
33. ULRICH ClaraTechnical University of Denmark — National Institute of Aquatic Resources, Charlottenlund
34. VANHEE WillyMinistry of the Flemish Community — ILVO, Fishery Department, Oostende
35. VAN OOSTENBRUGGE HansLandbouw Economisch Instituut — Fisheries Section, Den Haag

Acting in co-operation with officials of the Commission the Committee may form internal working groups, whose meetings can also be attended by invited experts. The Commission provides the secretariat of the Committee and of the working groups.

The STECF may be consulted by the Commission on all problems connected with the provisions governing access to zones and resources of EU fisheries and the regulation of fisheries activities. The opinion of STECF is crucial in the process of setting annual Total Allowable Catches TACs and quotas.

The Committee produces an annual report on the situation as regards fisheries resources and on developments in fishing activities. It also reports on the economic implications of the fishery resources situation.

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