Search results
"Operation" Sardinelle ", a fishery surveillance operation in which Member States of the Sub-regional Fisheries Commission (SRFC) cooperated to detect Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) fishing, took place from 23 to 26 January 2020.
This fisheries surveillance operation was entirely funded by the European Union via the PESCAO program and coordinated and organized by the SRFC. This operation received technical support from EFCA and operational support from France. Representatives of the Fisheries Committee of the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) and of the Gulf of Guinea Inter-regional Network (EU-GOGIN) project participated to the surveillance operation as observers. All participating SRFC Member States made available their updated national list of authorized fishing vessels.
The technical equipment of the national Fisheries Monitoring Centres (e.g. VMS, AIS, radars) as well as the information from the Integrated Maritime Services and satellite images (Copernicus) provided by EFCA made it possible to direct the patrol means to the suspected vessels. Correlations conducted on images collected from "Open Source" satellite services, were also conducted by the SRFC.
The fishery surveillance operation resulted in 58 vessel inspections with the detection of 9 possible non-compliances which are the subject of an investigation by the competent authorities of the Member States concerned.
Covering an area of approximately 1.1 million square kilometers, including the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) of Cabo Verde, Mauritania, Senegal and The Gambia, operation "Sardinelle" was coordinated from Senegal FMC and run by the staff of the MCS structures of the Member States involved.
Each SRFC Member State deployed a patrol vessel that patrolled their respective EEZ. The patrol vessel "FERLO" from Senegal and "CDT BOUAN" from the French Navy surveyed the EEZ of The Gambia. Two fishing inspectors from The Gambia were assigned to each of these patrol vessels.
The operation "Sardinelle" was another action organized under the PESCAO project that meets the broader objective of the project, which is the sustainable development and management of fisheries in the West African region. This fisheries surveillance operation complements those already carried out in 2018 and 2019 in the SRFC area.
EFCA is coordinating the control campaign for the bluefin tuna fishery (BFT) in the Mediterranean Sea for 2021 in the framework of its Joint Deployment Plan (JDP). In this context, Member States pool their control and inspection means, in order to carry out jointly control, inspection and surveillance of fishery activities both at sea and ashore.
The objective of the campaign is to ensure compliance with the international and EU rules adopted for the conservation of the bluefin tuna; special attention is given to monitor the activity of purse seiners towing vessels longliners, farms and traps.
This activity is bringing together Member States, the European Commission and EFCA, and counts on the resources of the eight Member States involved in the fishery – Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, and Spain –. Inspection and surveillance at sea is carried both in EU waters and international waters and applies to EU and non-EU vessels.
The joint control, inspection and surveillance activities are coordinated using the virtual EFCA coordination center platform, with participation of experts of the member States concerned and EFCA. Overall, inspection and surveillance strategy and daily recommendations are provided on the basis of the daily data and information received by national authorities and from ICCAT, in particular VMS data (Vessel Monitoring System, a satellite-based control system) and catch information.
Background:
In line with ICCAT Recommendation 19-04[1], the purse seine fishing for bluefin tuna shall be permitted in the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean during the period from 26 May to 1 July. However, specific derogations are possible in some fishing areas[2].
Fish shall be caged before 22 August of each year unless the farming Contracting Parties and Cooperating non-Contracting Parties (CPC) receiving the fish provides valid reasons including force majeure, which shall accompany the caging report when submitted. In any case the fish shall not be caged after 7 September.
[1] https://www.iccat.int/en/RecRes.asp
[2] By way of derogation, the season in the eastern Mediterranean Sea (FAO fishing areas 37.3.1 Aegean; 37.3.2 Levant), may be open 15 May if a CPC requests it in its fishing plan. By way of derogation, the season in the Adriatic Sea (FAO fishing area 37.2.1) may be open from 26 May until 15 July, for fish farmed in the Adriatic Sea.
Yesterday the European Commission has adopted the recommendation establishing a ‘Practical Handbook’ on European cooperation on coast guard functions. The Handbook will be made available as an online platform operated by EFCA in close cooperation with EMSA, Frontex and the Commission and updated with Agencies’ and Member States information. It contains guidelines, recommendations and best practices for the exchange of information on coast guard functions.
The three EU agencies, EFCA, EMSA and FRONTEX, work closely together under the inter-agency cooperation framework, with the direct support of the European Commission. They provide enhanced support and assistance to the national authorities performing coast guard functions at national and EU level and, where appropriate, at international level. This handbook is a concrete achievement of the EU cooperation on coast guard functions.
The recommendation establishes the handbook as a practical guide for EU civilian and military authorities when carrying out coast guard functions, facilitating close cross-border and cross-sector collaboration among them. The handbook provides a transparent compilation of services and information available through the three agencies. It helps to create synergies and avoid duplication and/or redundancy of effort in the cooperation between Member States and the three agencies, resulting in economies of scale.
The handbook focuses on the five inter-agency cooperation areas: information sharing; surveillance and communication services; capacity building; risk analysis; and capacity sharing. The handbook is mainly limited to cross-sector subjects and covers EU Member States and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) States.
The main end users of this handbook are the national authorities for each coast guard function in each Member State, aiming to support them when planning and coordinating activities.
EFCA is leading the inter-agency cooperation areas for capacity building and risk analysis and will ensure in cooperation with EMSA and Frontex sound implementation of this important recommendation to all coast guard functions community.
European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičiusis visited EFCA´s headquarters in Vigo and meet the new Executive Director, Dr. Susan Steele.
EFCA promotes the highest common standards for control under the Common Fisheries Policy, assisting Commissioner Sinkevičius with his mandate of contributing to the European Green Deal.
This day also marked the start of an exciting new chapter and a new voyage for the agency—the arrival of the new vessel means doubling the seagoing assets.