Press releases/news articles

Deadline for submissions: 20 January 2014

The European Parliament voted today to support the Commission’s proposal for a Directive on Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) and Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) – a cornerstone policy of the EU's Blue Growth agenda.

The Final Conference of the project takes place on 11th of December 2013 at Finlandia Hall in Helsinki, and will be hosted by Chief of the Finnish Border Guard, Lieutenant General Jaakko Kaukanen.

The European Parliament has today given its consent to a new four year Protocol to the EU's Fisheries Partnership Agreement with Morocco.

The overall objective of the reformed Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is to make fishing sustainable - environmentally, economically and socially. The new policy will bring fish stocks back to sustainable levels and will stop wasteful fishing practices.

Maria Damanaki, European Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, has welcomed today’s final vote of the European Parliament in support of a new, reformed Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) for the EU that she initiated in July 2011. The vote means that the CFP reform has been officially adopted and will now be applied throughout European Union waters as of 1 January 2014.

The Commission takes note of today's vote by the European Parliament on its proposal regulating fishing for deep-sea species in the North-East Atlantic.

The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) held its 10th plenary session from 2 to 6 December 2013 in Cairns, Australia.

On 15 November 2013, the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE) organised a workshop on Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) and fisheries and aquaculture in Vilnius, Lithuania.

A Commission Regulation providing for a reduction of the annual salmon quota allocated to Poland was issued to recover salmon quota overfished by Polish fishermen in 2012.

The European Commission has presented its proposal for fishing opportunities for fish stocks in the Black Sea for 2014.

At its 23rd Regular Meeting, held in Cape Town, South Africa, on 18-25th November, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) reconfirmed its commitment to following the best available science and improving its scientific knowledge base.

Following a formal warning one year ago (IP/12/1215), the European Commission today intensifies its fight against illegal fishing by identifying Belize, Cambodia and Guinea as non-cooperating third countries. Despite the Commission working closely with the countries' authorities to set up fisheries management and effective control measures, these three countries have still not addressed structural problems and have failed to show real commitment to tackling the problem of illegal fishing.

The conference, under the theme “Atlantic´s Blue Growth”, is being organised by the Portuguese Ministry of Agriculture and Sea, in partnership with the Mayor of Lisbon, and will take place on the 4th and 5th of December.

On 29 August 2012, the European Commission launched a Green Paper consultation on its "Marine Knowledge 2020" initiative.

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) today elected its Chair for the next two-year term. ICCAT Contracting Parties unanimously supported the appointment of Mr Stefaan Depypere, Head of the EU Delegation to ICCAT and Director in the Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of the European Commission.

The 7th edition of the European Maritime Day Conference (EMD) which will be held in Bremen (Germany) on 19 and 20 May 2014, has been launched officially in a stakeholders meeting in Brussels on November 21, 2013. The meeting was hosted by the Permanent Representation of the Federal Republic of Germany to the European Union.

Delegations from the European Union (EU) and the Seychelles have today successfully initialled a Fishery Access Agreement at a meeting in Victoria, Seychelles, which will allow Seychelles flagged vessels to continue fishing operations in the waters of Mayotte. These waters will become EU waters when Mayotte becomes an outermost region of the EU on 1 January 2014.

Ahead of the annual meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) to be held in Cape Town on 18-25th November 2013, the European Commission has reemphasised the importance of ICCAT continuing to manage fish stocks in a way that allows for sustainable yield for fishermen and ensures a stable flow of products to the markets.