The 33rd meeting of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation (NASCO) took place between 7 and 10 June in Bad Neuenahr Ahrweiler (Germany).

The New Skills Agenda adopted today aims to reduce the mismatch between the skills people are taught and the skills needed by the service sector and manufacturing industry. It is designed to improve the quality and relevance of skills to meet the need of a rapidly changing labour market and increase the understanding of skills and qualifications in the European labour market.

Commissioner Karmenu Vella is attending the 21st North Atlantic Fisheries Ministers Conference (NAFMC) in St Petersburg on 9th – 10th June. The theme of this year's conference is "Science and research to ensure the sustainability of marine ecosystems".

The 40th annual session of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) drew to a successful close on 3 June. Decisions made in Malta are in line with the European Commission's strategy to improve the state of the Mediterranean fish stocks and the economic prospects of the fishing industry. Commissioner Karmenu Vella expressed his deep satisfaction with the outcome, which "ushers in a new era of action to help fish stocks recover and fishing communities thrive."

On June 5, the Port State Measures Agreement, a key international treaty aimed at combating illegal fishing will come into force. The Agreement, adopted and promoted by the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation, allows countries to keep illegal operators out of their ports and to prevent them from landing illegal catches.

Closing date: 15 July 2016

The so-called “CMO Regulation" on the common organisation of the markets in fishery and aquaculture products sets out the conditions for establishing and recognising professional organisations in the fishery and aquaculture sectors. It also sets their objectives, and the conditions to be met to extend the rules to non-members.

This webinar which will take place on June 2, will cover the major ways to fund projects in blue economy and show how project promoters can combine different funding sources (EFSI, EMFF, H2020 etc).