International

After the positive vote of the plenary session of the European Parliament today of the protocols to the bilateral Fisheries Partnership Agreements between the EU and Madagascar, the EU and Cape Verde and the EU and Guinea Bissau, European Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Karmenu Vella said:

The main Bluefin Tuna fishing season runs from 26 May to 24 June; this is when large vessels, purse seiners, are allowed to fish for Bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean and the Eastern Atlantic.

The Bluefin tuna fishery is regulated by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) to which the EU is a contracting party.

The 19th meeting of the IOTC was held in Busan, Korea, from 24 April to 1 May 2015. The IOTC adopted six EU proposals (stand alone or co-sponsored), including improved reporting requirements, a reinsertion of the expired IOTC capacity management framework and a conservation measure on billfish with clear indications of depletion or overfishing (striped marlin, black marlin and blue marlin).

The European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Karmenu Vella welcomed the political agreement that the European Parliament and the Council of the EU have provisionally reached today to ensure the full implementation of the measures adopted by the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM)

The members of South Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement (SIOFA) achieved important progress in the meeting held in Mauritius last week.

The EU and Greenland have reached an agreement today on a new Protocol to implement the EU-Greenland Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement, which will enter into force on 1 January 2016 for a period of 5 years.

Speech by Director-General Lowri Evans, at a Conference at the University of the Philippines, Manila, 26 February 2015

Position announcements for Database specialist, Assistant coordinator and Scientific coordinator are available on ICCAT website.

European Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella will visit Agadir, Morocco to take part in the third edition of the Salon Halieutis. The event, organised by Morocco under the high patronage of King Mohamed VI, focuses on the different economic sectors of the marine fisheries, aquaculture and seafood industries, and will attract 45,000 visitors and exhibitors from over 30 countries.

At its annual meeting, held from 2-6 February in Auckland, New Zealand, the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO) adopted a series of important conservation and enforcement measures demonstrating its commitment to sustainable fisheries in the region.

A new infographic is on-line

Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements (SFPAs) aim to create a partnership to promote sustainable fisheries, based on the best available scientific advice. Therefore, a Joint Scientific Committee (JSC) of highly qualified scientific experts needs to be established in each SFPA, assuring that management measures are based on the best scientific advice available.

A new study is on-line

Deadline for applications is 28 February 2015.

As part of the continued fight against illegal fishing worldwide, the European Commission has today warned the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines that they risk being identified as non-cooperating countries.

Why has the Commission issued yellow cards to Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines as non-cooperative third countries?

The international community must continue to work together towards the sustainable use of oceans, to promote sustainable development, and to face up to the major threats confronting our marine environment. That was the message delivered today by the EU at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York during a debate on two resolutions relating to the Law of the Sea and sustainable fisheries.

The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) held its 11th plenary session from 1 to 5 December 2014 in Apia, Samoa.

The 11th South East Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (SEAFO) Annual Meeting, held from 1-5 December 2014, in Windhoek, Namibia adopted all conservation measures in line with scientific advice and reinforced the protection of vulnerable marine ecosystems for bottom fisheries. This measures adopted included the adoption of bi-annual cacth limits for alfonsino, pelagic armourhead and orange roughy as well as harvest control rules.