Press releases/news articles

EMD 2019 will offer an upgraded Blue Expo experience and pitch stage in parallel with the two-day conference. It is an ideal place for stakeholders to meet, exchange experience and discuss the latest developments. Interested stakeholders have the possibility to rent an exhibition booth during the two-day conference to showcase innovative ideas, products and services related to the themes of the conference.

The 7th annual meeting of the Commission of the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO), hosted by the European Union in The Hague, The Netherlands, concluded with good progress made on fisheries issues, compliance and the fight against IUU fishing.

European Maritime Day (EMD) will take place on 16-17 May 2019 in Lisbon, and registration is now open!

Our story of the month comes from Austria, where thanks to the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) you can now buy fresh fish and vegetables produced right in the Austrian capital city of Vienna. The aquaponics start-up, established in 2016 with an EMFF contribution of around €30,000, combines vegetable farming with fish farming in large glasshouses to produce aubergines, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and chilli, as well as catfish and perch.

The blue economy is changing rapidly. Traditional activities such as transport, fishing and shipbuilding still employ over 5 million people but the fastest growth is in activities and value chains that did not exist ten years ago – renewable energy, biotechnology, bio-refinery etc.

BlueInvest, the high-profile event from the European Commission to promote investment in the ocean economy, has set foot in Malta on January 24, 2019. The concept is tried and tested: 20 innovative companies pitched for the hand – and wallet – of a jury of investors. And as their projects are all about greening and cleaning the economy, the winners are not just the companies landing a contract, but also society at large.

Ports play a key role in our lives. Nearly 400 million passengers pass through EU ports every year. Over 90% of the world’s trade, and 40% of internal EU trade, is carried by sea. Find the location of European ports and discover ferry routes in Europe with our Map of the Month! The European Atlas of the Seas is now available in all official languages of the European Union.

Given the continued uncertainty in the UK surrounding the ratification of the Withdrawal Agreement, the Commission has today adopted two legislative proposals to help mitigate the significant impact that a “no-deal” Brexit would have on EU fisheries.

23% of worldwide catches, that is, 30 million tons of fish are thrown overboard every year. In most cases, the fish don't survive. A wasteful practice that needs to stop and will stop in Europe.

What is IUU fishing? IUU fishing stands for illegal, unreported or unregulated fishing. The European IUU legislation applies to all fishing vessels, under any flag, in all maritime waters.

The European Commission delists Thailand from the group of "warned countries" as recognition of its progress in tackling illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

The Commission's “European Strategy for more Growth and Jobs in Coastal and Maritime Tourism" is almost five years old. Adopted in February 2014, the strategy set a number of priority areas and actions to overcome shortcomings such as skill gaps, seasonality, environmental pressures or hard-to-get funds and thus stimulate the sector's performance and competitiveness.

The 2018 Economic report of the EU Aquaculture Sector shows a strong and growing sector. In 2016, the EU aquaculture sector has produced and sold 1.4 million tonnes of seafood, worth almost €5 billion. Profits of the sector have doubled between 2014 and 2016. Employment figures demonstrate that aquaculture firms are providing more and more stable employment opportunities.

On the occasion of World Cleanup Day, some 60 EU delegations and representations have teamed up with NGOs, embassies, schools and volunteer networks to organise beach clean activities across the world. Scroll through the new European Atlas of the Seas map and find out all about these events!

In mid-December, the EU and the Faroe Islands signed a fisheries arrangement for 2019. The objective was to maintain the balance of fishing possibilities and the high dependency on fisheries of the Faroe Islands. This arrangement does not involve joint management of any shared stock - but only provisions for transfers of fishing opportunities and reciprocal access to each other's waters.

The EU and Norway has signed three fisheries arrangements for 2019 in the framework of the largest fishing agreement in the north of Europe.

The Eurobarometer survey on EU consumer choices regarding fishery and aquaculture products is clear: Europeans love fish and other seafood. More than four out of ten Europeans eat seafood at least once a week at home. Price and availability are the main barriers to increase consumption. Regional, national and EU products enjoy a very strong consumer preference. The study also explains how EU policy helps building trust with consumers, mainly by reliable and useful consumer information.

Next year the number of fish stocks managed at maximum sustainable yield (MSY) levels will rise to 59, and there will be additional protection for the European eel. At the same time EU fishermen in the Atlantic and the North Sea will be able to increase their catches of a number of healthy stocks.

Last week’s annual meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) adopted an important and binding measure to reduce the risk of entanglement from FADs by 2020. FADs, or “fish aggregating devices”, are floating fishing gear mainly used for tuna fishing. However, they also attract other species, including various kinds of pelagic shark. The new measure to avoid such by-catches was adopted at the proposal of the European Union.

Our story this month is on a conservation project off the coast of Schleswig-Holstein, in Germany, financed through the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). The project is helping to support local fishermen, ecologists and administrative bodies in adopting measures to protect harbour porpoises and diving ducks.