Illegal fishing (IUU)

The European Commission is lifting the yellow card to Kiribati after four and half years of close cooperation. The “yellow card” is an official warning issued by the European Union to trading partners falling short of tackling illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. By lifting the card, the European Commission recognises the important progress of Kiribati in addressing the shortcomings in its fisheries governance.

The European Commission has notified the Republic of Panama about the risk of being identified as a non-cooperating country in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

On IUU fishing in general.

The European Commission continues its action to fight illegal fishing worldwide by notifying the Republic of Ecuador that it needs to step up its actions (yellow card) in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Last week, twenty fisheries inspectors from the Republic of The Gambia received training in control techniques to fight and deter Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU).

The EU recognises Taiwan's reforms put in place during the last three and a half years to tackle illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU). Today the European Commission decided to lift the yellow card acknowledging the progress made by Taiwan and the major upgrade of its fisheries legal and administrative systems to fight against IUU fishing.

The European Union, Canada, the People's Republic of China, Denmark (in respect of Greenland and the Faroe Islands), Iceland, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Norway, the Russian Federation and the United States met in Ottawa on 29-30 May to begin preparatory work on outstanding issues to ensure a smooth entry into force of the Agreement to prevent Unregulated High Seas Fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean.

In the continued efforts to fight illegal, unreported and unregulated fishery (IUU) globally, Karmenu Vella, Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, will launch the EU’s first IT tool, called “CATCH”, conceived to streamline the checks of seafood products entering the EU market.

Illegal fishing is the world’s third largest illegal economic activity. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN, it could value 10-20 billion euro per year. A dazzling amount, but peanuts compared to the damage it causes: collapsing fish stocks, marine ecosystem destruction, poverty among coastal regions, even forced labour and other severe human rights abuse.

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.

On 18 July, the European Commission has lifted its “yellow card” for Tuvalu. The yellow card is an official warning of the European Union towards its trading partners in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. By lifting the card, the European Commission recognises the important progress of Tuvalu in addressing the shortcomings in its fisheries governance.

The European Commission is continuing its fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing worldwide by warning Vietnam, with a "yellow card", about the risk of it being identified as a non-cooperating country.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the Comoros have been identified as non-cooperating third countries under the EU's regulation to fight and deter illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, while Liberia has been pre-identified.

The European Union participated in the fourth round of international negotiations seeking binding measures to prevent unregulated fisheries in the Arctic high seas. The meeting took place between 15 and 18 March 2017 in Reykjavik, Iceland.

The European Commission has lifted today the 'yellow cards' for Curaçao and Solomon Islands, recognising the significant progress both countries have made in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

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 meeting of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) in Rome drew to a successful close on 23 September. This meeting was devoted to the implementation of the medium-term strategy for the sustainability of Mediterranean and Black Sea fisheries: the assembly agreed on timeframe and prioritisation of actions, funding and quantifiable goals.