Press releases/news articles

Commissioner Vella is travelling to Tromsø, Norway, to attend the Arctic Frontiers conference, one of the biggest Arctic gatherings of the year. The Commissioner's attendance is preparation for a midsummer arctic showcase of EU commitment to the region. That event will take place on 15-16 June in Finland and is designed to promote action to protect and support sustainable development in the region and the 4 million who live there.

The economic performance of the EU fleet improved significantly again in 2014, according to the latest Annual Economic Report. Between 2008 and 2014, the EU fleet moved from a loss-making position in 2008 to registering record-high net profits of €770 million in 2014 – up from €500 million in 2013. Forecasts for 2016 remain positive.

The majority of Europeans say they eat fish because its healthy. Fish consumption is increasing, with 42% Europeans eating fish/aquaculture products at least once a week at home. This underlines the need to ensure sustainable supply of fish to the EU market.

Charting the water depth is an activity almost as old as sailing. Now measurements are made by acoustic soundings rather than plumb lines dropped from ships but, until recently, the purpose was the same – avoiding the grounding of ships in areas where the water was too shallow.

Which Member States are the biggest producers of cereals, tomatoes or apples? How much cow’s milk is collected by dairies in the European Union (EU)? Which Member States produce the most cheese, butter or cream? And which produce the most meat from cattle, pigs or poultry? How many people work in the agricultural sector in each EU Member State? How have prices changed over recent years? How important are the forest resources in the EU? How many tonnes of fish were caught and how large is aquaculture production?

EU ministers have reached an agreement on fishing opportunities for 2017 in the Atlantic, North Sea and Black Sea, following discussions at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council on 12 and 13 December. Karmenu Vella, the EU Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, presented the Commission's proposals, which were the basis for the negotiations.

Come January, the Commission's department dealing with maritime affairs and fisheries will be better equipped to match the challenges and priorities of today's maritime economy.

EU Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella will present the Commission's proposals for fixing fishing opportunities for 2017 for the Atlantic, North Sea and Black Sea to the Agriculture and Fisheries Council on 12-13 December.

The European Commission's yearly proposal for the 2017 fishing opportunities has now been supplemented with additional figures on stocks, where ICES has provided scientific advice after the publication of the Commission's proposal.

The Commission today proposed fishing opportunities for the Black Sea for 2017.

The 13th annual meeting of South East Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (SEAFO) ended on 2 December in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. SEAFO members adopted an EU proposal to upgrade the system of fisheries monitoring and compliance.The meeting also adopted total allowable catches for the main SEAFO species, based on scientific advice.

Rarotonga, 30/11/2016 - The EU and the Cook Islands have agreed on all the elements of their brand-new Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement, giving the go ahead to fishing operations for EU vessels.

The European Union participated in the third round of international negotiations on measures to prevent unregulated fishing in the Arctic high seas. The meeting took place between 29 November and 1 December 2016 in Tórshavn on the Faroe Islands.

A sustainable future for the world's oceans will require the full backing of the business community. This was the main message shared by João Aguiar Machado, Director-General of the European Commission's department for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, at the Sustainable Ocean Summit in Rotterdam.

Spanish authorities, producer organisations and research institutes are organising open door visits and conferences across Spain today to celebrate the annual "Día de la Acuicultura". This year, the European Commission joined in the celebrations, supporting the "Di sí a la acuicultura sostenible" ("Say yes to sustainable aquaculture") competition launched by the Observatorio Español de Acuicultura from Fundación Biodiversidad (Mapama).

The European Commission is making available €1.5 million to create nautical routes linking up maritime sites across Europe. The announcement was made by Karmenu Vella, Commissioner for Environment, Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, when opening the European Tourism Day conference in Brussels today.

The objective of this call for expressions of interest is to set up a list of external experts to support evaluation and monitoring activities of actions implemented by EASME under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) (2014-2020).

The European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) is organising a seminar dedicated to the operational implementation of the European cooperation on coast guard functions.

Next week aquaculture will be under the spotlights in Spain, in the framework of the Día de la Acuicultura celebrated every 30 November. This year is special as the Ministerio de Agricultura y Pesca, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente (MAPAMA) launched last September the campaign "Di sí a la acuicultura sostenible".

Suite à la proposition de l'Union européenne, une série de mesures essentielles pour la conservation de l'espadon de Méditerranée ont été adoptées hier soir par la Commission internationale pour la conservation des thonidés de l’Atlantique (CICTA) au Portugal.