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.
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Today, the Administrative Board of the Community Fisheries Control Agency held its 5th meeting in Vigo. The main item on the agenda was the adoption of the proposal for a draft budget for the year 2008, which was accompanied by a staffing plan and a document outlining the options for next year's operational work programme.
The operational priorities for 2008 are in principle the same as in 2007: Joint Deployment Plans for the North Sea and adjacent areas and the Baltic Sea; coordination of control and inspections of bluefin tuna fisheries as well as involvement in the execution of the Community Action Plan to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fisheries (IUU). The Agency will also coordinate control and inspections in the regulatory areas of the North-west Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO) and the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC). The final budget and work programme will be adopted by the Board in October.
The preliminary draft budget for 2008 would be substantially increased compared to the one in 2007, due to the increased activity of the newly operational Agency, and the costs of relocation to Vigo and foreseeable contractual services to the Member States at their request and expense. These services relate inter alia to control and inspections in connection with Member States' obligations in EU and international waters. One such action could be to charter an inspection vessel for joint inspections in the NAFO Regulatory Area on behalf of Member States.
Total budget 2007 (wholly contributed by the Community) | € 5.000.000 |
Total budget 2008 (including costs of relocation to Vigo and revenue for contractual services to Member States) | € 9.300.000 |
Community contribution 2008 | € 7.300.000 |
Another important item on the agenda was the timing and the arrangements for the Agency's relocation from Brussels to its seat in Vigo. The headquarter of the Agency will be located in a building designated by the Spanish authorities, which will be renovated and should be ready for occupation in May 2009. The Agency is now exploring, together with the Spanish authorities, the possibilities to find temporary office space in Vigo until the renovation is completed.
"There is full agreement between us and the Spanish authorities on the importance of relocating the Agency to its seat in Vigo as soon as possible, for the proper functioning of the Agency. Our discussions with the Spanish government have been constructive and held in a cordial atmosphere. I welcome the efforts made by Spain to find a practicable solution", commented Mr Harm Koster, Executive Director of the Agency.
EU Member States around the Baltic Sea are embarking on a period of intense co-operation in the area of fisheries control and inspection, co-ordinated by the Community Fisheries Control Agency (CFCA). The CFCA has developed a test joint inspection and surveillance scheme for the Baltic Sea cod stocks, with active participation of all eight Member States in the region, to fine-tune the mechanisms for Member State co-operation. Under this new form for cooperation, patrol vessels will enter into waters under the jurisdiction of other Member States to carry out inspections. The results of the tests will be highly relevant in the development of future Joint Deployment Plans.
This is the first time that the CFCA coordinates control and inspection activities with Member States in Community waters. The first test campaign will start on 7 May with Denmark as the lead partner. The campaigns are scheduled to continue until the end of the year.
"I am proud that the Agency has been able to pull together this scheme within the first four months of its existence. The Member States have invested a lot of effort in the development of this intensified co-operation, which aims to protect and rebuild the fragile Baltic cod stocks, ensure a level playing field for all fishermen in the area, and make best use of Member States control resources to work towards a culture of compliance. After each test campaign we will assess its strengths and weaknesses together with Member States to fine-tune the following campaigns. We will have a close dialogue with stakeholders through the Regional Advisory Council of the Baltic Sea, to make sure that their views can be taken into account at an early stage, as we develop the blueprints for future Joint Deployment Plans", commented Mr Harm Koster, Executive Director of the CFCA.
The Joint Inspection and Surveillance Scheme (JISS) is designed to deploy resources pooled by Member States (human resources as well as physical means of control and inspections, such as vessels, airplanes and infrastructure). The test campaigns, which will be carried out to identify the most efficient way of pooling resources and avoid unnecessary disruption of fishing activities, will be managed by a lead partner, helped and advised by an experienced coordinator from the CFCA. So far, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Latvia and Germany have been appointed to take the lead for different campaigns, which will be scheduled to take place at difference locations and times depending on the seasonal variations in the fisheries. The joint inspections will be carefully planned to make best use of the resources and to focus on areas with a high concentration of fishing activity at different times during the season, at sea as well as at the landing sites. Obviously, the detailed planning of the test campaigns will not be disclosed beforehand.
The multinational nature of the JISS means that a fishing vessel from one Member State, fishing in waters of a second Member State, can be hailed by an inspection vessel from a third Member State and boarded and inspected by Community inspectors from a fourth. For principal and practical reasons, all control and inspection vessels operating in the waters of a particular Member State will carry at least one inspector from that Member State.
The development of a JISS by the CFCA for the Baltic Sea cod stocks was decided in October 2006, when the fishing opportunities for Baltic Sea fish stocks were adopted by the Fisheries Council. The JISS can be seen as a forerunner of the future Joint Deployment Plan for the Baltic Sea cod stocks, which will be developed as soon as a specific control and monitoring plan has been adopted by the Commission.
Today, the Community Fisheries Control Agency (CFCA) adopted an operational plan for joint multi-national fishery controls in the North Sea and adjacent areas. This marks the start of an innovative and coordinated effort to combat over-fishing and save endangered cod stocks. This joint deployment plan for the North Sea will pool resources (inspectors, control vessels, aircraft, etc), from seven coastal Member States and use them to ensure more effective and uniform control of fishing activities. The plan, which consists of seven cross border inspection and surveillance campaigns, will run until the end of the year. Similar plans will be put in place in the other EU fishing areas.
"I very much welcome this first joint deployment plan under the aegis of the new Community Fisheries Control Agency. Such plans will ensure that available resources are used in the most efficient and effective way. The Member States involved show a very good example of cooperation both among themselves and with the new fisheries control Agency. Such plans will help increase fishermen's confidence and trust in more uniform fisheries control and inspection throughout the Union", commented Joe Borg, European Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs.
"The adoption of the first joint deployment plan is a milestone for the Community Fisheries Control Agency. I am pleased that we have been able to coordinate this complex venture during the first six months of our Agency being in operation; and doubly pleased that the Member States have been so willing and able to contribute to our efforts! This gives rise to hopes that the benefits of the plan will stretch far beyond the seven inspection campaigns, to foster more cooperation overall, and further harmonisation of fisheries controls, thus creating a level playing field for fishermen in all EU waters", commented Harm Koster, Executive Director of the CFCA.
The joint deployment plan for the North Sea, Kattegat, Skagerrak and the Eastern Channel is the first of its kind. It coordinates the use of resources pooled by seven EU Member States: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The focus of the plan is the monitoring programme for the recovery of cod stocks, which was established in 2005. The inspections and surveillance activities will concentrate on fishing vessels using gear types that are likely to catch cod either as a targeted fishery or as by-catch. There will also be inspections of transport and marketing of cod.
Each of the seven joint campaigns will be steered each time by one of the Member State, supported by the CFCA. The inspection teams will be mixed, and the inspection vessels and surveillance aircraft will be pooled from different Member States. Inspection vessels will be able to enter into the fishing zones of another Member State. They will, however, need the consent of that Member State for access to its territorial waters and should carry at least one inspector from the country concerned. The Member States have been requested to give prior consent for access to territorial waters by all inspections vessels and surveillance aircraft that will be used in the different campaigns.
Under the Common Fisheries Policy, each Member State is responsible for ensuring the proper application of fisheries measures in its own waters and on its own territory. In response to the need for a level playing field for EU fishermen, and to foster a culture of compliance with fisheries rules, the Community Fisheries Control Agency was established as part of the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) in 2002. Operational since the beginning of 2007, the Agency aims to organise coordination and cooperation between national control and inspection activities, so that the rules of the CFP are respected and applied effectively. The seat of the Agency is in Vigo, Spain. It is provisionally located in Brussels.
With the adoption of five joint deployment plans for the year 2009, the CFCA has started executing the 2009 work programme. Three joint deployment plans (JDPs) will cover the same fisheries as in 2008, the regulated fisheries in the North Atlantic Fisheries Organisation RA and the cod fisheries in the Baltic Sea, North Sea and adjacent areas. In addition, two new JDPs will cover the cod fisheries in Western Waters and the regulated fisheries in waters beyond national fisheries jurisdiction in the North Eastern Atlantic (NEAFC).
"The pooling of resources and information as well as of expertise through these joint deployment plans is a great contribution towards a level playing field'' said Harm Koster, CFCA Executive Director.
The joint deployment plans are the vehicle through which the Agency organises operational coordination between Member States. Member States pool the national human and material means of control and inspection under the JDPs whilst the CFCA coordinates the deployment of these means. In Community waters, two criteria have to be met before the JDPs can be established. The fish stocks concerned must be subject to a long-term recovery plan or a multi-annual management plan. In addition, a specific control and enforcement plan, adopted by the Commission, must be in place. The Executive Director of the CFCA adopted these five joint deployment plans in close cooperation with the Member States concerned and the Commission. In the NAFO and NEAFC RA, the Commission has entrusted the Agency with the inspection activities, trough carrying out JDPs both at sea and at landing, which are delivering the international activities of the EU.
During 2008, four JDPs were established in the regulated fisheries in the NAFO RA, the cod fisheries in the Baltic Sea, North Sea and adjacent areas as well as the bluefin tuna fisheries in the Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic. In total, 2787 inspections took place and 241 infringements were detected. In 2009, with a more ambitious work programme, besides the JDPs for these fisheries, two new JDPs have been adopted.
The five joint deployment plans adopted have brokered cooperation between 15 Member States working together in the different areas concerned. In particular, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Poland, Finland, Belgium, and the United Kingdom.
Community Fisheries Control Agency inaugurates its premises in Vigo on 19 of July
- The Headquarters' Agreement between the Government of Spain and the Community Fisheries Control Agency will be signed and the doors of its provisional premises on the García Barbón Street in Vigo will be symbolically opened.
- It will count with the participation of the Commissioner on Maritime and Fisheries Affairs, Joe Borg, the Minister of Environment and Marine and Rural Affairs, Elena Espinosa, the President of the Galician Government, Emilio Pérez Touriño and the Vice-president of the Fisheries Committee of the European Parliament, Rosa Miguelez Ramos.
The Community Fisheries Control Agency will celebrate the launch event of its seat in Vigo next Saturday, 19th of July. It will gather representatives of the European institutions, the Spanish and Galician governments, members of the Administrative and Advisory Board of the Agency as well as chairmen of the Regional Advisory Councils (RACs). The Ambassadors of Member States in Spain have also been invited along with prominent personalities from the Fisheries domain.
The event will start with the signature of the Headquarters Agreement between the Government of Spain and the Community Fisheries Control Agency. Afterwards, the official opening of its provisional premises in the García Barbón Street will take place and, lastly, there will be an opening ceremony at the Centro Social Caixanova in Vigo. These events will be preceded by a press conference on Friday afternoon when the work of the Agency will be presented in more detail to the media.
Vigo, seat of the Agency
The decision of Spain (Vigo) as the seat of the Agency has been taken by the Heads of State and Government at a meeting of the European Council in December 2003, and has been reflected on the foundational regulation of the Agency. The Agency, still based in Brussels, started its operations by implementing its first annual work programme. With its consolidation, the Agency has been relocated to its seat, at Vigo.
About the Agency
The Community Fisheries Control Agency is an essential tool for the effective application of the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy, with a view to ensuring the sustainability of Europe's fisheries sector. Proposed in 2002 as part of the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, its main mission is to coordinate the activities of control and inspection of the Member States and the fight against illegal fishing.
On 19 July the Community Fisheries Control Agency (CFCA) will formally take up residence in Vigo, Spain. Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Joe Borg, will inaugurate the new offices at a ceremony to be attended by Spanish Minister of Environment, Marine and Rural Affairs Elena Espinosa, President of the Galician Government Emilio Perez Touriño and many prominent personalities in the field of fisheries. The Community Fisheries Control Agency is a cornerstone of the EU's efforts to ensure sustainability in Europe's fisheries sector. Operational since the beginning of 2007, the Agency organises coordination and cooperation between national control and inspection activities, to ensure that the rules of the EU's common fisheries policy are respected and applied effectively.
Commissioner Joe Borg commented: "The Agency's relocation to Vigo marks its coming of age as a vital link in the chain of control and enforcement under the common fisheries policy. The Agency's Joint Deployment Plans have proven their worth in preventing the overfishing of vulnerable stocks, whether it be cod in the Baltic or bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean. As we prepare for a major overhaul of the control mechanisms of the common fisheries policy, the Commission looks forward to building on its strong working relationship with the Agency, and we will actively support any initiative which would make it even more effective."
The decision to establish the Agency was taken in 2002 as part of the reform of the common fisheries policy (CFP). Its priorities are to contribute to the recovery of depleted stocks, the fight against illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing activities and the reduction of discards. Its main working method is the operational coordination of pooled national means of control, inspection and surveillance, above all through Joint Deployment Plans focusing in particular on fisheries. In this way, the Agency not only strengthens the monitoring and control of CFP rules, but also helps ensure that they are applied uniformly throughout the EU. The Agency also liaises with the stakeholder-led Regional Advisory Councils to secure input from the fisheries sector and other stakeholders into CFP control policy and to promote a culture of compliance.
The activities undertaken by the Agency so far include three major coordination tasks, which were launched in 2007 and have continued into this year:
- coordination of EU control, inspection and surveillance activities in the regulatory area of the North Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO);
- a Joint Deployment Plan to combat overfishing and save endangered cod stocks in the North Sea by pooling resources (inspectors, control vessels, aircraft, etc.) from seven Member States thereby providing more effective and uniform control of fishing activities in seven control campaigns over a total of more than 100 campaign days;
- a joint inspection and surveillance campaign in support of the long-term management plan for cod in the Baltic Sea, which deploys resources pooled by the coastal Member States in six campaigns over a total of more than 80 campaign days.
In 2008, the Agency launched a Joint Deployment Plan to protect the vulnerable bluefin tuna stocks in the East Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea.
The decision to locate the Agency in Spain (Vigo) was taken by the Heads of State and Government at a meeting of the European Council in December 2003. The Agency was still based in Brussels, however, when it launched its first annual work programme in 2007. The Agency currently has 41 staff members from 15 EU Member States. It will be fully staffed (with 55 staff members) by the end of 2008.
The Administrative Board will adopt the Work Programme and Budget for 2009 and will hold a debate about the multiannual strategy development of the Agency. A new chairman for the Administrative Board will be elected. Marcelo Vasconcelos, holding the chairmainship since the foundation of the Agency, will not continue any longer.
The 2009 Work Programme and budget
The Work Programme needs to be adopted by the 31st of October each year, taking into account the opinion of the Commission and the Member States. It comprises the priorities and duties to be carried out by the Agency for the coming year. Then this programme needs to be validated by the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission and the Member States. Among the decisions to be taken are the adoption of the budget and the work programme to cater for further operational coordination and new services with a view to enhance the application of the Common Fisheries Policy for the next year The budget accompanying the work programme will be presented afterwards to the Community Budgetary authorities, the European Parliament and the Council which will adopt the final amount in the Community budget in December 2008.
As for 2008, the CFCA work programme has been the operational coordination of control and inspection by Member States in relation to the recovery of cod stocks in the Baltic and North Sea and adjacent areas, the bluefin tuna in the Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean sea as well as the preparation of control measures to combat Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported fishing and reduction of discards.
Administrative Board meeting
On the 16th of October 2008, the Administrative Board of the CFCA will hold its 8th meeting, for the first time at the new premises of the Agency in Vigo. In addition, a multiannual planning will be discussed at the meeting in order to provide for a strategic orientation of the Agency for the coming years.
Moreover, indicators providing proper performance assessment will be decided as well at the meeting. Organisational and administrative matters will also be in the agenda in order to ensure the most efficient allotment of resources for the execution of the work programme of the Agency.
Background: The Administrative Board and its Chairman
The Administrative Board is composed of a representative of each of the 27 EU Member States of the European Union and six representatives from the European Commission. The Administrative Board was constituted at its first meeting held on 1 February 2006.The chairperson elected from among the Commission representatives or the deputy chairperson shall convene and chair the meetings of the Board and determine its agenda. According to the procedural rules applicable to the Board, the mandates for the chairmanship come to an end in January 2009. As a consequence, it is necessary to elect a new chairmanship at the meeting of the 16th of October.
The CFCA has adopted its work programme and budget for 2009 as well as discussed its future multi annual strategic development plan and performance indicators. The work programme provides for the extension of the coordination of control to Western Waters and NEAFC RA; activities to be developed in the framework of the new regulation against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and the development of capacities to render unique horizontal services for the harmonization of control rules under the Common Fisheries Policy. Moreover, Serge Beslier, with French nationality, has been elected new Chairman of the CFCA Administrative Board.
"With the decisions and guidelines adopted today, the Agency has received a new impetus to develop innovative and challenging actions and priorities," said Marcelo Vasconcelos, outgoing chairman of the Administrative Board. "With its establishment in Vigo and its two-year experience the CFCA is ready to deliver and encourages all Member States to cooperate to have genuine results''
In order to ensure a long-term strategic development of the Agency, the CFCA has not only adopted a work programme for 2009 but also discussed a future multiannual plan. It will help effectively organise the CFCA operations and will cover a five-year period with annual reviews. In addition, a set of adequate indicators will be developed in order to provide an instrument to evaluate the performance in achieving targets fixed each time with the ultimate goal of ensuring the full compliance of the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy.
The multiannual plan will focus on operational coordination of the deployment of pooled national means of control, inspection and surveillance in the areas and fisheries determined by the Commission and the Board; and on capacity building, to establish and maintain centres for operational cooperation between national services, the Commission and the CFCA in order to enhance the capacities available in the European Union for implementing the Common Fisheries Policy.
2009 Work Programme
"In 2009, the CFCA will take a step forward and have a more ambitious work programme towards a further harmonised and effective application of the control and inspection rules of the Common Fisheries Policy," said Harm Koster, Executive Director of the CFCA, "The coordination of control operations will continue and at the same time we will largely invest in the necessary services for enhancing the capacities for control at the Community level and achieving a level playing field" In terms of the coordination of control and inspection operations, the work programme caters for:
- Maintaining the operational coordination in the regulated fisheries in the NAFO RA, the cod fisheries in the Baltic Sea, North Sea and adjacent areas as well as the bluefin tuna fisheries in the Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic
- Carrying out two new joint deployment plans for cod fisheries in West ern Waters and for regulated fisheries in the NEAFC RA
- Preparing the fulfilment of the tasks attributed to the CFCA in the framework of the Council regulation to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing
Concerning the capacity building for further harmonization of EU control and inspection measures and methods, in 2009 the Agency will:
- Create a Monitoring Centre for Assessment of control that will set performance indicators, validate methodologies and evaluate the effectiveness of the activities
- Build a Data Monitoring Centre that will ensure the exchange and quality of data on fishing and inspection activities
- Develop a Centre for Training and Development that will manage training programmes for inspectors through the organisation of workshops and seminars
- Establish a FISHNET, as a web access point for all actors involved that will mean a joint working place
- Organise a Centre for Pooled Capacities that will organise an up to date inventory for the national means available and handle the procurement
New Chairman
Serge Beslier has been elected Chairman of the Administrative Board after being appointed by the Commission for such a position, according to the CFCA founding regulation.
Beslier has devoted his entire professional life to the fisheries domain within both national and Community services and at the current situation is honorary director of the European Commission. Within the French administration, after different posts of responsibility on the coast he was Head of the office "Market organisation and relation with stakeholders" at the Ministry of the Sea. Pursuant to that, he held different responsibility positions at the European Commission and became acting director of the Direction ''External Policy and Markets'' in September 2007. He holds master degrees both in Law and Political Science with a complementary specialisation in the Maritime Affairs navy school.
"I am honoured to have been elected Chair of the Board of the CFCA at such a crucial time. Through its culture of cooperation, the Agency is ready now to execute its third work programme that will provide a real added value to the way the Community has dealt with control so far," said Serge Beslier, newly appointed Chairman of the Administrative Board.
From 8 to 10 of July, representatives of 20 Member States, the European Commission and the CFCA have analysed the work carried out so far, discussed on the best practices and set out guidelines for the future. After two years since the beginning of the functioning of the control activities coordinated by the CFCA and one year since the Agency installed in Vigo, the CFCA has assessed its functioning and discussed with Member States the way forward during a three day seminar in Vigo.
Documents of the meeting: