Read in EFCA Publications: EFCA Multiannual Work Programme 2023-2026 Work Programme 2023
In this episode of Ocean, we step on board the Ocean Sentinel patrol vessel to see first-hand how EU member states and agencies are working together to enforce fishing regulations in the Adriatic Sea.
The European coast guard community is one of the major protagonists of the Green Deal – every day the coast guards and authorities deal with the greatest environment on earth – that of marine ecosystems and biodiversity and address the challenge of climate change. The Greening Award Initiative is meant to award those who have risen to the challenge and proposed greening activities in their daily mission, work, and campaigns.
The Greening Award Initiative aims to celebrate the sustainability actions that are carried out and developed across more than 300 authorities that make up the European Coast Guard community.
This initiative recognises projects and activities developed by authorities carrying out Coast Guard Functions which empower a green transition, contribute to a more sustainable future, and which directly or indirectly support the goals of the European Green Deal.
Announced in the framework of the Annual European Coast Guard Event held in Lisbon in 2023, the Greening Award Initiative is open to any entity or institution executing Coast Guard Functions within the European Union, Norway, and Iceland.
The Greening Award Initiative is jointly organised by the three European Agencies tasked with supporting national authorities carrying out Coast Guard Functions: the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA); the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA); and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex).
Award categories
The Greening Award Initiative has three different categories: Greening Operations; Outreach and Awareness; and Greening at Work.
Greening Operations: this category encompasses operational actions and projects that have led to an improved environmental footprint. Actions and projects that have engaged and involved communities internal and external to the submitting organisation are covered by this category, as are collaborative actions which may involve knowledge transfer inside or outside the organisation.
Outreach and awareness raising: this category showcases the public-facing activities that authorities engaged in Coast Guard Functions and have activated on sustainability themes. Public campaigns, open days, events, etc., are all covered by this category.
Greening at work: this category focuses on the practical application of sustainability in the workplace. It can include individual actions (for example, banning single use plastics, offsetting emissions) or larger-scale projects (for example, Eco-Management and Audit Scheme –EMAS registration for an organisation).
How to enter
Entries can be submitted through the Greening Award Initiative entry form before 31 March 2024. For more information on the Awards, the Rules, and the application process, please consult the Greening Award Initiative web page on the European Cooperation on Coast Guard Functions portal.
The Awards
The Awards will be presented at a special ceremony during the Annual European Coast Guard Event 2024, organised by the European Fisheries Control Agency.
Denmark has established a new Real-Time Closure (RTC) in their waters of The Skagerrak for juvenile fish, for the period from 31 of August to 20 September 2023 23:59 hrs.
Denmark has established a new Real-Time Closure (RTC) in their waters for juvenile fish.
The e-FishMed e-learning platform was launched today to improve the effectiveness of training activities and to reinforce knowledge and competences of fisheries control and inspection staff in the Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic areas. The platform counts already with 151 pre-registered users amongst the authorized e-FishMed Beneficiary Countries’ staff involved in fisheries control and inspection activities.
The platform will host e-learning modules and other training material such as video tutorials, manuals and international, regional and national legislation, allowing fisheries inspectors and fisheries monitoring centres’ operators to train themselves at anytime from anywhere. The platform will also provide tools and functionalities to reinforce life-long learning and to foster interchange of experiences and best practices between northern and southern Mediterranean countries.
The platform is at the core of the European Union (EU)-funded e-FishMed project, supported and implemented by the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA). The e-FishMed project contributes to harmonising fisheries control and inspection activities and promotes cooperation against Illegal, Unreported, Unregulated (IUU) fishing and the implementation of control of conservation and management measures in the Mediterranean. The project will also contribute to creating the conditions for a sustainable Blue Economy in that area.
The launch coincided with the first e-FishMed Train-the-Trainers course, a three-day training session aimed to reinforce capacities, skills and competences of fishery inspectors involved in training activities for their peers. The training also had the objective of supporting the trainers in the use of the e-FishMed e-learning platform.
The course was hosted by Malta, one of the partner Member States of the E-FishMed project. 11 Fisheries inspectors from Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia, Beneficiary Countries of the project, participated to the training.
More information on the e-FishMed e-learning platform at : Project e-FishMed | European Fisheries Control Agency (europa.eu)(EN)
Background
EFCA is an EU agency that promotes the highest common standards for the control, inspection, and surveillance under the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). EFCA was established to organise operational coordination activities by the Member States and to assist them to cooperate so as to comply with the CFP rules in order to ensure its effective and uniform application. EFCA also supports non-EU countries in the framework of EU funded capacity building Projects.
The added value of the work of the agency lies in its contribution to sustainable fisheries by enhancing compliance with conservation and management measures and to a playing field for the fishing industry.
The Administrative Board adopted, during its 41st meeting held online on 20 October, the Single Programming Document (SPD), which contains the Multiannual work programme 2024-2028 and the EFCA´s work programme for year 2024. This programming is oriented towards achieving the overarching goal of the Agency of enhancing the implementation of a uniform and efficient Common Fisheries Policy.
The SPD 2024-2028 presents a five-year cycle for the Agency´s work and gives a picture of the mid-term operational activities according to EFCA’s strategic areas, consolidating priorities and projects that are currently running.
This document is a key planning tool to deliver EFCA’s mandate and the new changes that are coming up, such as the implementation of the new fisheries control regulation. The agency will have key new tasks in its implementation, including the assignment of Union Inspectors. Besides, a new JDP is anticipated to be added for the Indian Ocean.
EFCA will keep assisting the EU Member States through operational coordination of their control and inspection activities, to ensure the effective and uniform applications of the Common Fisheries Policy. Specific work will be devoted to the improvement of common procedures, methodologies and best practices in support of the EFCA´s joint deployment plans. Moreover, EFCA will also continue assisting the European Union in implementing the international dimension of the Common Fisheries Policy and will keep strengthening its cooperation with EMSA and Frontex in the context of the coast guard cooperation.
EFCA´s activities renew its commitment to the Sustainable Blue Economy in the context of the “European Green Deal'', one of the Commission’s six political priorities, particularly when it comes to the ‘zero-tolerance' approach to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing’ to preserve and restore ecosystems and biodiversity.
Besides, the Board members have given the green light to the budget for 2024, showing an amount of 30,584 million to expend next year.
Background
EFCA is a European Union agency that promotes the highest common standards for the control, inspection and surveillance under the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). EFCA was established to organise operational coordination activities by the Member States and to assist them to cooperate so as to comply with the rules in order to ensure its effective and uniform application.
The added value of the work of the agency lies in its contribution to sustainable fisheries by enhancing compliance with conservation and management measures and to a European-wide level playing field for the fishing industry.
The Administrative Board is the governing and controlling body of EFCA. It is composed of six members of the European Commission and one representative per Member State. The Administrative Board holds a meeting at least once a year.