The streamlined rules will also pave the way for gathering more and better data to help close persistent gaps in our knowledge about fish stocks. They will give scientists and decision-makers a better idea of how fisheries are affecting marine and maritime ecosystems, while also providing more data on the Mediterranean and long distance fisheries.

Reliable fisheries data are needed to assess the health of fish stocks and the marine environment and meet the EU's objective of ensuring sustainable fisheries by 2020 at the latest. The European Union is a major supporter of fisheries data collection, and has increased funding of data collection activities under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) since 2014.

Fisheries data are collected in a number of ways: in ports or at sea by observers on board commercial fishing vessels, through scientific surveys at sea to locate and follow fish stocks, by compiling control data from logbooks, sales notes and satellite data, and through socio-economic surveys of the fisheries, aquaculture and processing sectors.

The European Commission proposed to simplify the current data collection rules in June last year. This proposal is currently being discussed in the European Parliament and the Council. The rules adopted yesterday will ensure that systematic and consistent data collection continues in the meantime.

More information

• Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2016/1251 of 12 July 2016 adopting a multiannual Union programme for the collection, management and use of data in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors for the period 2017-2019 (notified under document C(2016) 4329)
• Fisheries sector: data collection
• Joint Research Centre (JRC) fisheries data collection web site