The European Commission is pleased to announce today the nominees for the first edition of the Blue Economy Business Awards 2016. With this prestigious annual award, the European Commission honours scientists, researchers and entrepreneurs who have made a specific contribution to bringing and developing innovation in the Blue Economy.

The fight against illegal fishing was a key topic of conversation at the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) last week, with FAO's Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture (COFI) celebrating the entry into force of the FAO Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA) at its meeting in Rome on 11-15 July.

The European Commission is looking to turn emerging ocean energy technologies like tidal and wave power into "another European success story", replicating the spectacular uptake of offshore wind, Commissioner Karmenu Vella has said. The Commissioner was speaking at the third annual Offshore Energy and Storage conference in Malta.

The Commission has proposed to lift the "red card" and the associated trade measures for fisheries products from the Republic of Guinea, following significant improvements to its national fisheries governance to fight illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

On July 15, in a seminar on the status of European fish stocks and on the economic situation of European fishing fleets, the Commission will be hearing the views of the fishing sector, scientific organisations, NGOs, national administrations and other members of the public, i.e. all those concerned with the EU's fisheries legislation.

The European Commission has adopted new, simpler rules for data collection in the fisheries sector for the period 2017-2020, making it easier for fishermen and Member States to comply with EU rules.