The European Commission has lifted today the 'yellow cards' for Curaçao and Solomon Islands, recognising the significant progress both countries have made in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

The EU is concerned by IATTC's failure to adopt a robust, science-based conservation measure for tropical tuna in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. A last-minute agreement reached last week applies a catch limit for certain fisheries in 2017, but falls short of what is needed to guarantee long-term sustainable management of tuna stocks. Moreover, despite EU support for a plan to reduce fleet overcapacity in the region, capacity continues to increase.

Commissioner Karmenu Vella, responsible for fisheries and maritime affairs, has travelled to Morocco to attend the Halieutis fair in Agadir. Speaking at the opening conference yesterday, he stressed the European Union's strong bilateral ties on fisheries with Morocco as well as, more generally, the value of international cooperation in tackling shared ocean-related challenges.

Updates to the European Union's fleet register will soon be available in real time, following the adoption of a new regulation by the European Commission on 6 February. The regulation makes it easier for EU member states to update the fleet register, while giving the Commission the necessary tools to crosscheck the data that member states submit.

On the 5th - 6th October 2017 the European Union will be hosting the fourth Our Ocean Conference, attended by Heads of State, Government Ministers, and ocean leaders.

Karmenu Vella, Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries issued a statement following the positive vote in the plenary of the European Parliament today on the sustainable management of external fishing fleets: