The 23rd annual meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT) met from 10 to 13 October 2016 in Kachsiung, Chinese Taipeh. The EU is pleased by the progress made and welcomes science-based decisions on the permitted catch levels for southern bluefin tuna for 2017 and for 2018-2020, as well as the strengthening of the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and the ban on large-scale driftnets. The EU regrets that seabird mitigation measures were not adopted due to a lack of sufficient support.

The European Commission has adopted two regulations that will facilitate two Member States to comply with European environmental legislation to protect natural environments. In particular the regulations will help the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework and the Habitats and Birds Directives.

Today the European Commission has proposed a multi-annual plan for demersal fish stocks in the North Sea. The proposal covers demersal fish stocks, i.e. fish that live and feed near the bottom of the sea, and aims to ensure that stocks are fished at sustainable levels. It will also bring decision-making closer to fishermen.

On 29 June 2016 the Council of Fisheries Ministers and the European Parliament reached a political agreement to amend the rules currently in force for cod stocks (a long-term plan, also known as the cod recovery plan, which has been in force since 2008).

The bluefin tuna fishing season in the Western and Central Mediterranean Sea and in the Adriatic Sea was open from 26 May to 24 June for purse seiners. Thanks to the implementation of an international recovery plan and to the efforts made by fishermen, catch limits for this stock could again be increased this year (the EU quota is just over 11200t in 2016, compared to 7938 t two years ago).