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Regulation (EU) 2019/473 on the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA’s Founding Regulation) is in force since 14 April 2019. In the interests of clarity, EFCA’s Founding Regulation of 2005 was replaced by a codified text, which incorporates the initial Founding Regulation and subsequent amendments as listed below:
- EFCA was established by Council Regulation (EC) No 768/2005 of 26 April 2005 and later amended by Council Regulation (EC) 1224/2009.
- In 2016, Regulation (EU) 2016/1626 of the European Parliament and of the Council introduced a second amendment aimed at increasing European cooperation on coast guard functions, as well as to strengthen cooperation at EU and international level between EFCA, the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex).
- In 2024, new amendments have been introduced by Regulation (EU) 2023/2842 of the European Parliament and of the Council with landmark changes widening the mission and the activities of the Agency. In addition, as from 2024, EFCA’s Union inspectors have been given powers to conduct inspections in the Economic Exclusive Zone of EU Member States. Besides, as from 2024, the European Parliament may appoint one member and one alternate to the Administrative Board, without the right to vote.
The seat of EFCA is Vigo, Spain, as established in Article 27(4) of EFCA’s Founding Regulation.
Background
In the wake of the 2002 Common Fisheries Policy reform, European Union governments deemed necessary to establish the Agency in an effort to build a culture of compliance within the fisheries sector across Europe. The new permanent structure was to ensure the coordination of inspection and control activities by the Member States and to assist them to cooperate so as to comply with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy. The European Fisheries Control Agency was the result of this need.
Relevant legal instruments
- Regulation (EU) 2023/2842 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 November 2023
- Regulation (EU) 2019/473 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 March 2019 on the European Fisheries Control Agency
- Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 404/2011 of 8 April 2011 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 establishing a Community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy.
- Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 of 20 November 2009 establishing a Community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy.
- Regulation (EU) 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).
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7th Administrative Board meeting (13 March)
On 13 March the Administrative Board of the Community Fisheries Control Agency (CFCA) will hold its 7th meeting. Among the decisions to be taken are changes in the budget and the work programme to cater for the Joint Deployment Plan (JDP) for the recovery of blue fin tuna in the Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea.
The blue fin tuna JDP is the main new initiative of the CFCA in 2008. It is a joint community project in which Member States, the Commission and the CFCA are working closely together. It will mainly concern Member States with a strong interest in the fishery: Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain. The JDP will organise and co-ordinate control, inspection and surveillance of the bluefin tuna fishery activities at sea and on land, using resources that have been pooled from the participating Member States. The JDP activities will be co-ordinated by a Technical Joint Deployment Group (TJDG), which will be set up in Brussels on 1 April 2008 and remain there until the end of the year.
The Administrative Board will also discuss options for the 2009 work programme of the Agency. The Executive Director has proposed to continue the joint deployment plans for North Sea cod, Baltic Sea cod, blue fin tuna and the joint inspection and surveillance activities adopted under the North-West Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO), with a possible extension to Western Waters and the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Convention area (NEAFC), which are important fishing areas where there is a need for organizing operational cooperation between Member States concerned. The CFCA should also coordinate control and inspection of imports and landings in Community ports of fishery products originating from IUU fishing activities, organise training for fisheries inspectors and start an evaluation of the effectiveness of the joint deployment plans.
All staff visit Vigo (14-18 March)
The Community Fisheries Control Agency (CFCA) is moving to its seat in the Vigo, Spain, in July 2008. As a preparation for the relocation, all staff of the new agency and their partners will visit Vigo 14-18 March. During this trip the staff will be received, inter alia, by the Xunta de Galicia and the City of Vigo.
Background (14 March)
The decision to establish an EU Fisheries Control Agency was taken under the 2002 reform of the Common Fisheries Policy to strengthen monitoring and control of EU fisheries measures and to help ensure that they are applied uniformly throughout the EU. The Agency will liaise with the stakeholder-led Regional Advisory Councils to secure input from the fisheries sector and other stakeholders, and to help promote a culture of compliance with EU conservation and management measures throughout the EU.
The core activity of the CFCA is operational coordination of pooled national means of control, inspection and surveillance.
The Agency currently has 28 staff members from 12 EU Member States. It will be fully staffed (49 staff members) by the end of 2008.
Among the achievements of the newly created agency are three major coordination tasks carried out in 2007:
- Coordination of EU control, inspection and surveillance activities in the regulatory area of the North Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO), a task that previously was ensured by the European Commission.
- A Joint Deployment Plan for cod stocks in the North Sea, which started in July 2007 and will continue in 2008. The plan is an innovative and coordinated effort to combat over-fishing and save endangered cod stocks in the North Sea. Resources (inspectors, control vessels, aircraft, etc) were pooled by seven Member States and were deployed where they were most needed, to ensure more effective and uniform control of fishing activities.
- Joint inspection and surveillance campaigns in relation to the long term management plan for cod in the Baltic Sea, which deploy resources that had been pooled by the coastal Member States. The campaigns will continue in 2008.
The CFCA has adopted its annual report for 2009 at the meeting of the Administrative Board held on the 18th of March. The annual report illustrates all the activities carried out by the CFCA in its first full year at its seat in Vigo and with 98% execution of its budget. Moreover, at the meeting, the Board discussed the Preliminary Work Programme of 2011, the preliminary draft budget and the outline for a multiannual work programme.
"The results shown in the Annual Report of 2009 speak by themselves. I am fully confident that this new spirit of cooperation and enthusiasm at European level will deliver progressively compliance, in the interest of a profitable fishing industry that provides safe nutritious food for our citizens from a healthy marine environment," said Serge Beslier, Chairman of the CFCA Administrative Board.
2009 results
Operational coordination of control, inspection and surveillance activities by Member States in relation to recovery measures for depleted stocks has been the first priority for the CFCA. Compliance with recovery measures applicable to stocks of cod in the Baltic and North Sea areas, the eastern Atlantic blue fin tuna and regulated species in the NAFO and NEAFC Regulatory Areas have been the focus of the Agency's work in 2009. In particular, six Joint Deployment Plans (JDP's), giving effect to Specific Control and Inspection Programmes adopted by the Commission and RFMO Schemes for joint international inspection and surveillance, have been adopted and implemented by the CFCA. As result, the level of control, inspection and surveillance activities carried out under these JDP's has increased significantly.
The CFCA has worked closely together with Member States and the Commission. All joint activities have been planned and implemented on the basis of joint risk analysis, prior training of national inspectors, harmonised inspections, cross boundary control, inspection and surveillance activities and, to a large extent, by teams of inspectors of mixed nationalities. The level of cooperation has been exemplary and the first signs of enhanced compliance levels have been observed notably in the Mediterranean and the Baltic Sea.
In 2009, the CFCA has initiated also its activities in the area of the fight against IUU activities and in the area of Capacity Building in order to be ready for the priorities set for these activities in the 2010 Work Programme.
Mid–term priorities
The main priorities in the mid-term are:
• Supporting Member States and the Commission in applying the IUU Regulation.
• Operational coordination of inspection and control for cod in the North and Baltic seas, bluefin tuna, NAFO and NEAFC Regulatory Area, to be extended to Northern Hake, Swordfish and certain pelagics.
• Developing and strengthening the skills, abilities, processes and resources of enforcement authorities for the purpose of uniform and effective application of the rules of the CFP by Member States.
Proposed Draft Budget for 2011
The proposed draft budget of the European Union subsidy for the CFCA in 2011 is of 8.85 million Euros (7.28 million of administrative expenditure and 1.57 of operational expenditure). In comparison to 2010, it implies a 5.2% increase, as this year the CFCA has 8.41 million Euros subsidy.
This week EFCA is conducting a 'training for trainers' session on Fisheries control and inspection for GFCM countries. 13 trainers from Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria are participating in the training session.
Last week (23-26/05/2017), representatives from 20 European countries with sea borders joined Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, along with officials from the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA), and the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) in Portugal to move forward with the cooperation on European coast guard functions.
During the three-day Coastex2017 Coast Guard exercise hosted by the Portuguese presidency of the European Coast Guard Functions Forum, vessels, helicopters, airplanes and 90 observers from European Coast Guard authorities conducted exercises to test different coast guard functions. The scenarios tested were: detection of migrants, search and rescue, medical evacuation, pollution, illegal fishing, boarding of a ferry transporting a dangerous person, seizure of drugs and arrest of the traffickers.
“I am delighted to see vessels and helicopters from Italy, Spain and Portugal as well as coast guard officers coming from Germany and observers from 20 European maritime countries taking part in this exercise,” said Berndt Koerner, Frontex Deputy Executive Director.
“Running exercises is crucial if we want to be effective at sea because it helps us test the best ways of working together in a variety of scenarios. The aim of this particular exercise, and the numerous seminars taking place behind the scenes, is to develop the best way of conducting coast guard operations together,” he added.
Coast Guard organisations differ from country to country in Europe. In some, the coast guard is mainly responsible for search and rescue, while other national authorities also cover responsibilities related to law enforcement, fisheries, maritime safety or pollution control.
Frontex has been working hand in hand with the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) and the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) to cover the full scope of coast guard functions that go beyond border management.
This week in EFCA's premises a group of inspectors from the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) from the EU and Canada are participting in a workshop about conservation and enforcement measures. International cooperation strenghtens as participants discuss recent infringement cases to improve procedures.
Denmark has established a new Real-Time Closure in the North Sea for juvenile fish starting from 13/01/2024 to 02/02/2024 23:59 hrs.