Every year, some 8 million tons of plastic enter the sea. As it slowly degrades, plastic marine litter turns into microplastics, becomes ingested by animals and in turn enters the human food chain. The EU is determined to solve this issue once and for all. But public policy and legislation alone cannot solve this problem: a clean ocean is the responsibility of all.
If you are visiting the fair, come and experiment with our interactive web mapping application at the European Commission stand (7-1411), on 8 May 2019.
Commissioner Karmenu Vella is in Burgas, Bulgaria welcoming more than 1000 participants from the maritime sector for the 2018 edition of the European Maritime Day. For the first time since its conception, the European Maritime Day takes place in the Black Sea region.
Tomorrow, Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella will launch "World Aquariums Against Marine Litter" campaign, where aquariums across the world fill one of their exhibitions with plastic to show the global reality of marine litter.
Marine pollution is one of the key topics of the Our Ocean Conference. Every year millions of tons of litter end up in the ocean. It is estimated that by 2050 our seas could contain more plastic than fish. Aquaria are ideal partners to showcase this growing problem and to engage thousands of people, by presenting practical solutions.
The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC/UNESCO) and the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of the European Commission (DG MARE) adopted on 24/03/2017 a "Joint Roadmap to accelerate Maritime/Marine Spatial Planning processes worldwide". The roadmap identifies common challenges and proposals for actions to be implemented in the coming years, reaching out for collaboration with other UN bodies and Member States.
The Resumed Review Conference on the Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks (UNFSA) finished last Friday after one week of intensive negotiations at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 23rd to 27th May.
The event will highlight the progress made over the last years and further actions needed in developing a sustainable aquaculture sector in the EU.
The objective is to create and maintain an operational service providing free and open access to digital maps of the seabed topography and coastline of European seas at the highest resolution possible and to the survey data underlying them.
Implementation of the Second Cycle of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive: achieving coherent, coordinated and consistent updates of the determinations of Good Environmental Status, initial assessments and environmental targets.
The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission is looking for an ICT Manager for its secretariat in Micronesia. Deadline for applications: 29 February 2016.
The Netherlands have taken over the rotating six-month EU Presidency as from 1 January 2016. For fisheries, the new Presidency has announced its aim to achieve more "in-depth sustainability" as agreed in the framework of the EU's reformed Common Fisheries Policy.
EU Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella is making his first official visit to China this week. The visit is an opportunity to facilitate further the EU's cooperation with China and allow for the development of cooperation in environmental, maritime and fisheries policy.
A vast majority of respondents to a recent EU consultation believes that the EU and other public bodies could play a role in ecolabelling – but views on their required type of involvement are less clear. This is one of the main findings from the European Commission's recent consultation on an EU ecolabel for fisheries and aquaculture products.
The aim of the consultation is to gather input on how the EU could contribute to achieving better international governance of oceans and seas to the benefit of sustainable blue growth.
Two days after an agreement paving the way for a new support programme for Greece, the European Commission revealed plans today to help Greece maximise its use of EU funds. As mandated by the Euro Summit on 12/13 July, this will help mobilise more than €35 billion up to 2020 to support the Greek economy, provided that the conditions agreed upon by the Euro Summit will be met.
The European Commission is organising a selection procedure to fill five administrator posts at AD8 level within the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE), in the fields of fisheries science and marine/maritime sciences. Deadline for applications: 31.07.2015.
