Item Overview

The EU wants to take an even more active role in international ocean governance (IOG) by: strengthening the IOG framework at global, regional and bilateral levels; realising ocean sustainability by 2030; making the ocean a safe and secure space responding to growing challenges to the rules-based multilateral order; building up international ocean knowledge for evidence-based decision-making to protect and sustainably manage the ocean.

The ocean is at the foundation of life in the planet and plays a vital role in safeguarding that some of our most basic needs are met. The Blue Economy comprises all activities that are linked to the water, the sea and the oceans.

Regional fisheries management organisations (RFMOs) are international bodies..

Today I have written to Fisheries and Environment Ministers of 22 European Union Member States about the issue of incidental catches of dolphins and other marine animals in EU waters, especially in the Bay of Biscay and the Celtic Sea,to urge them to collaborate in finding a solution for this situation. As the European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, I am fully committed to resolve this problem.

Statement by Commissioner Vella after the Agrifish Council, 19/12/2019

The aim of the consultations is to obtain the opinions of the general public and of maritime security experts on how the EU maritime security strategy and its action plan should be updated to ensure they remain fit for purpose in the coming years.

This initiative reports on the implementation of the common fisheries policy, in particular progress in achieving sustainable fisheries, the state of the fish stocks and the balance between fleet capacity and fishing opportunities.

In the context of the ‘‘European Green Deal”, the European Commission adopted a comprehensive Farm to Fork Strategy, which recognises the strong links between healthy people, healthy societies and a healthy planet and aims to address comprehensively the challenges of sustainable food systems.

This year’s edition of the annual Seminar on Fisheries Science takes place on 24 June (hybrid). Registration is now open!

Bringing together various financial institutions, banks (multilateral and national), private investors as well as key representatives of the UfM countries, including industry/business.

A dedicated brokerage session to inform stakeholders and promote the potentialities of S3 interregional partnerships

The commitment to halt and reverse the loss of marine biodiversity is a key EU priority, as underlined by the recent international ocean governance communication. One of the main EU tools to achieve that, is the creation and management of marine protected areas (MPAs), in line with its position to reach, in the context of the ongoing global negotiations, an ambitious Global Biodiversity Framework with 30% of the ocean being covered by MPAs by 2030.

The 2022 edition of the annual seminar on fisheries science of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE) will focus on the implementation of an ecosystem approach to fisheries management.

The recently published communication on international ocean governance sets the path of EU ocean policies for years to come. Among the key policies, there’s a set of EU commitments to support the innovation, sustainability and competitiveness of the aquaculture sector.

The overall aim of this study is to analyse how to use pre-commercial procurements in the context of production capacities, target fleets and distribution infrastructure to create substantial uptake of drop-in advanced biofuel for commercial cargo-shipping and aviation which is essential for decarbonisation of the maritime and aviation sectors.

In March 2020, the European Commission adopted a Communication entitled “A Union of Equality: Gender Equality Strategy for 2020-2025”. The Communication presents policy objectives and actions to make significant progress by 2025 towards a gender-equal Europe and commits to further gender mainstreaming in all EU policies and EU funding programmes.

This call aims to conclude a service contract to continue providing technical assistance services for the implementation of the three EU sea basin strategies: Atlantic Ocean, Black Sea, Western Mediterranean.

The Commission has launched a second call for applications with a view to extending the membership of the group and achieving an appropriate balance of the interests represented by selecting organisations operating in the field of activities related to youth, fisheries and migration/integration.

The NAFO internship program is currently accepting applications for 2019.

The Commission is currently organising a temporary agent selection in the fields of fisheries science, management, control and inspection.