International

The EU is concerned by IATTC's failure to adopt a robust, science-based conservation measure for tropical tuna in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. A last-minute agreement reached last week applies a catch limit for certain fisheries in 2017, but falls short of what is needed to guarantee long-term sustainable management of tuna stocks. Moreover, despite EU support for a plan to reduce fleet overcapacity in the region, capacity continues to increase.

Commissioner Karmenu Vella, responsible for fisheries and maritime affairs, has travelled to Morocco to attend the Halieutis fair in Agadir. Speaking at the opening conference yesterday, he stressed the European Union's strong bilateral ties on fisheries with Morocco as well as, more generally, the value of international cooperation in tackling shared ocean-related challenges.

Karmenu Vella, Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries issued a statement following the positive vote in the plenary of the European Parliament today on the sustainable management of external fishing fleets:

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.

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.

Important conservation and management measures for 2017 were adopted, most of them at the initiative of the EU, at the 35th Annual Meeting of the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC).

At its 20th Special Meeting from 14 to 21 November 2016 in Vilamoura, Portugal, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) under the lead of the EU took an impressive number of important decisions. Commissioner Vella said: "I welcome that at its 50th anniversary the second performance review recognises ICCAT's high performance. This means that our efforts to improve international fisheries governance are paying off. I am also very pleased that all Mediterranean countries have agreed to address the dire situation of Mediterranean swordfish by accepting to limit and reduce their catches gradually over 5 years in combination with a comprehensive package of other measures. Bringing back this emblematic species to sustainable levels will benefit many fishermen, including the small scale fleets. But I am also very happy that for the first time ICCAT has agreed to manage sharks through a measure for blue sharks. Unfortunately, though, ICCAT was not yet ready for a shark fins naturally attached policy. However, the high number of supporting countries bodes well for the future."

The final report of the Extraordinary Joint Scientific Committee (JSC) organized in the framework of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement (SFPA) between the European Union (EU) and Guinea Bissau (GB) between 07 and 12 October 2016 is now available

An extraordinary Joint Committee, held at the initiative of the EU, took place in Nouakchott, Mauritania, on 15-16 November in the framework of the Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the EU and Mauritania. The Parties reviewed the implementation of EU support for the Mauritanian fisheries sector, introduced new fishing opportunities for EU trawlers, and discussed the MACAPEL investment project.

This year the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, hosted by the European Union from 14 to 21 November in Vilamoura, Portugal, has to tackle an ambitious agenda.

On 18-20 October the 3rd Joint Committee under the 2014 – 2018 EU-Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement Protocol met in Rabat. The Parties assessed the second year of implementation of the protocol: both the fishing activity carried out by the EU fleet and the implementation of the EU support to the Moroccan fisheries sector were reviewed.

The 23rd annual meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT) met from 10 to 13 October 2016 in Kachsiung, Chinese Taipeh. The EU is pleased by the progress made and welcomes science-based decisions on the permitted catch levels for southern bluefin tuna for 2017 and for 2018-2020, as well as the strengthening of the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and the ban on large-scale driftnets. The EU regrets that seabird mitigation measures were not adopted due to a lack of sufficient support.

The 38th annual meeting of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO) took place from 19 to 23 September 2016 in Varadero, Cuba. NAFO Contracting Parties decided on total allowable catches (TACs) for a number of stocks. Under the leadership of the EU and Canada, NAFO also set the course for improved fisheries management in the high seas.

The final report of the fifth Joint Scientific Committee (JSC) organized in the framework of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement (SFPA) between the European Union (EU) and Guinea Bissau (GB) between 10 and 12 May 2016 is now available

The Commission has proposed to lift the "red card" and the associated trade measures for fisheries products from the Republic of Guinea, following significant improvements to its national fisheries governance to fight illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Fisheries in the South Indian Ocean are set to become more sustainable after members of the South Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement (SIOFA) adopted a series of conservation measures in La Reunion last week. The measures reflect the European Union's push for better managed fisheries resources in the region.

The Annual Meeting of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) ended on 1st July in La Jolla, California. While no measures were adopted for the management of Tropical Tuna and for the conservation of Bluefin Tuna, good progress was made on shark conservation and on Fishing Aggregating Devices (FADs) management.