This year the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, hosted by the European Union from 14 to 21 November in Vilamoura, Portugal, has to tackle an ambitious agenda.

On 18-20 October the 3rd Joint Committee under the 2014 – 2018 EU-Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement Protocol met in Rabat. The Parties assessed the second year of implementation of the protocol: both the fishing activity carried out by the EU fleet and the implementation of the EU support to the Moroccan fisheries sector were reviewed.

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 38th annual meeting of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO) took place from 19 to 23 September 2016 in Varadero, Cuba. NAFO Contracting Parties decided on total allowable catches (TACs) for a number of stocks. Under the leadership of the EU and Canada, NAFO also set the course for improved fisheries management in the high seas.

The final report of the fifth Joint Scientific Committee (JSC) organized in the framework of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement (SFPA) between the European Union (EU) and Guinea Bissau (GB) between 10 and 12 May 2016 is now available

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.

Fisheries in the South Indian Ocean are set to become more sustainable after members of the South Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement (SIOFA) adopted a series of conservation measures in La Reunion last week. The measures reflect the European Union's push for better managed fisheries resources in the region.