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The European Union agencies: European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) based in Lisbon, the European Agency for the Management of Operational Co-operation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union (Frontex) based in Warsaw and the Community Fisheries Control Agency (CFCA), based in Vigo, have concluded an agreement with a view to cooperate, in accordance with their respective mandates, in the field of maritime surveillance that will be mutually beneficial for the three agencies.
The Cooperation Agreement will allow for the exchange of information and of expertise as well as of for the exploration of joint use of assets as relevant, optimising the functioning of the European Union as a whole regarding Maritime Surveillance. The cooperation will result in an improvement of the control of external maritime borders of the EU (competence of Frontex), an increase in the maritime safety (competence of EMSA) and an enhancement of the coordination of fisheries control and inspection activities by the Member States (competence of CFCA).
The main activities comprised in the agreement are the following:
• Exchange of information and data on matters of common interest
• Explore synergies in the use of the maritime surveillance and information systems
• Explore the possibilities of joint use of assets
• Investigate potential cooperation in the field of maritime surveillance directed to the protection of external maritime borders and fisheries control
• Expand mutual collaboration between the Agencies in areas such as coordination of inspections, research and development, training, etc.
As part of the project PESCAO, two workshops organised by EFCA on the analysis and preliminary recommendations resulting from the Fisheries Committee for the Western Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) and the Sub-regional Fisheries Commission (SRFC) Member Countries’ legal review were held on 22 and 23 May 2019 at SRFC headquarters in Dakar, Senegal.
The main objective of the workshops was to present the analysis and preliminary recommendations resulting from the FCWC and SRFC Member Countries’ legal review carried out by an external expert contracted by EFCA.
Officials from the FCWC and SRFC Member States, in addition to representatives of the FCWC and SRFC Secretariats, the European Commission, the European Union Delegation in Senegal and EFCA attended the workshop.
During the workshop it was provided an overview of the international, regional and sub-regional instruments applicable in the context of the fight against IUU fishing as well as an analysis of the relevant legislation of each country of the two sub-regional organizations.
The workshop also focused heavily on discussing the needs in terms of legal updating and/or implementation for each country, and a preliminary set of recommendations to address those needs.
Following the workshop, EFCA, in collaboration with its PESCAO partners – FCWC and SRFC - will support selected countries in drafting and amending national legislation