The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) has not been able to reach an agreement on the establishment of marine protected areas (MPAs) in Antarctica at its 34th Annual Meeting held in Hobart, Australia, from 19 to 30 October 2015.

Commissioner Karmenu Vella is visiting Brittany today to engage with various stakeholders on fisheries, the blue economy, and marine protection. Following a meeting with French Secretary of State Mr Alain Vidalies this morning, Commissioner Vella participated in the 2nd Atlantic Stakeholder Platform Conference in Brest, a city known for its dynamism in terms of blue growth.

The European Commission has adopted a €710.5 million investment package for the Polish fisheries and aquaculture sectors for the 2014-2020 period, including €531.2 million of EU investments.

The European Commission has adopted a key investment package for the Greek maritime, fisheries and aquaculture sectors.

The European Court of Auditors (ECA) last week published the results of an audit looking into certain EU's fisheries agreements with non-EU countries. The Commission considers this audit exercise as a positive opportunity for improving the framework of the EU's bilateral relations with third countries in the field of fisheries.

The agreement will expand the area of operations for the EU fleet in the Western and central Pacific Ocean - the world's most important tuna fishing grounds, providing more than half of the global tuna catch. In exchange the Cook Islands will receive significant financial contributions.

EU Fisheries Ministers have agreed on fishing opportunities for 2016 in the Baltic Sea, following discussion at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Luxembourg on 22 October.

Erasmus+ call for proposals 2016 has just been launched. Maritime stakeholders can seek funding for vocational education and training (Blue Careers).