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The Director General of Maritime and Fisheries Affairs of the European Commission, Mr. Joao Aguiar Machado, visited the European Fisheries Control Agency today with a view to have a good insight of the Agency activities and an exchange of ideas on the ongoing projects.
During his visit, the Director General could find out more about the operational activities of the Agency, its systems, the monitoring of the landing obligation and its contribution to the European Coastguard initiative.
Aguiar Machado highlighted the importance of the work of the Agency in assisting the European Commission and bringing Member States to work together to implementing the Common Fisheries Policy. He thanked EFCA staff for its commitment and congratulated them for their valuable work in joining the Coast Guard initiative.
“Your work is an extension of ours in Brussels, we are part of the same project,” said Mr. Aguiar Machado when addressing EFCA staff.
To mark the celebration of the international World Oceans Day, held every year on 8 of June, the agency organised an internal photo contest. The theme of the competition was "Wonders of the Oceans". The photo collage below reflects an arbitrary selection of photos from the finalists of the EFCA Photo Contest 2016.
As previously announced during the celebration of Europe Day, the European Fisheries Control Agency is sponsoring a mural, which main purpose is to highlight the importance of ocean sustainability, in collaboration with the programme of urban art launched by the City Hall of Vigo. The latter is contributing to the project by providing the materials, assembly and machinery.
The works to paint the mural have started this week. The project shares the same goal, that of raising awareness regarding ocean sustainability, as other international programmes such as Sea Walls Murals for Oceans, with whom the Agency has been in contact this year. In this way, the project serves its purpose to emphasize the need to protect our oceans through public art. In addition, the mural aims at making visible the work of the Agency in a city such Vigo, where the ocean plays an important role, as well as building ties with its citizens.
The mural will be located in one of the adjoining walls located closest to the ocean in Torrecedeira street number 4. Due to its European dimension, the project involves artists of three different nationalities: Fernandez & Gonzalez fom Vigo, known for their careers as plastic artists and for revitalising the cultural space of the Halcón Milenario, will paint one of the façades; the Portuguese artist Federico Draw, with recognized expertise in urban art in the neighbouring country and Europe, will bring to life the second façade; in addition, the Irish poet Keith Payne, in partnership with Proyecto Ewa, has written a poem dedicated to the sea which, translated into Galician, will raise the profile of this initiative.
Through this mural, the European Fisheries Control Agency aspires to demonstrate by means of audio-visual communication that art is able to convey the Agency’s ultimate goal, which main mission resides in the coordination of fisheries control: the need to ensure oceans sustainability over time.
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.
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.
Denmark has established a new Real-Time Closure in the North Sea for juvenile fish starting from 21/01/2024 to 12/03/2024 23:59 hrs.