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For the fourth year, the Community Fisheries Control Agency (CFCA) coordinates the Joint Deployment Plan (JDP) for the Blue Fin Tuna fishery in the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Atlantic waters for 2011. Under this JDP, Member States pool their control and inspection means, both material and human, in order to carry out jointly control, inspection and surveillance of fishery activities both at sea and ashore. All these activities are coordinated by a team of national coordinators based in the premises of the CFCA. The plan bringing together the European Commission, Member States and the CFCA, counts on the resources of the seven Member States involved in the fishery - Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain – as well as an EU inspection vessel chartered by the CFCA and covers all stages in the market chain. Inspection and surveillance at sea is carried both in EU waters and international waters and applies to EU and non-EU vessels.
Before the first bluefin tuna Joint Deployment Plan in 2008, control, inspection and surveillance activities carried out separately by each of the Member States concerned were not well coordinated and not evenly spread over the different fleets targeting bluefin tuna. Since then, there have been three JDPs in the Mediterranean, with very positive results. In them, national inspectors from Member States involved in the fishery are on duty during all the control campaign. This year, the CFCA will participate with its new EU inspection vessel for the control campaign, the Tyr, which, together with the Member States means, will enhance the inspection activities in the area. The EU offers this vessel, for enhancing cooperation with other Mediterranean states involved in the bluefin tuna fishery.
The joint control, inspection and surveillance activities carried out under the JDP are coordinated by a special Technical Joint Deployment Group (TJDG) consisting of national coordinators which is based in the CFCA premises in Vigo as from 1 May 2011 and will remain operational until the end of November. The TJDG is supported by the CFCA's own coordinators. The TJDG decides both the overall inspection and surveillance strategy and issues daily recommendations for control, inspection and surveillance activities by national and EU means, on the basis of the daily data and information received by national enforcement authorities and from ICCAT (International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna), in particular VMS data (Vessel Monitoring System, a satellite based control system) and catch information.
In 2011, Member States and the CFCA mobilize 22 vessels and 9 aerial patrol means to ensure that the Blue Fin Tuna recovery plan is respected. In total, 232 days of sea activity, 150 days of ashore activity and 198 flight hours are scheduled to take place throughout the campaign.
At its annual meeting (Paris, November 2010) ICCAT adopted a recommendation amending the recovery plan, with a special focus in reinforcing the provisions regarding transfer and caging operations. The European Union is committed to implement the new provisions already throughout the 2011 fishing season. These provisions include testing of an improved methodology to determine the quantities transferred to cages in which bluefin tuna is retained.
"The Joint Deployment Plan ensures a uniform and effective control of all fishing vessels (EU and third country vessels) participating in the bluefin fishery in the Mediterranean. It has also very successful in brokering cooperation between all national services involved in control, inspection and surveillance. As a result, control of the bluefin tuna fishery has been effective, and this year, with the anticipated application of the new ICCAT rules, we will test improved control methods for the future” said Harm Koster, Executive Director of the CFCA.
The Community Fisheries Control Agency has organised the third annual seminar evaluating its operational activities. Whilst, in its first eddition, the issues debated revolved around best practices and guidelines for the future and, in the second one, around developing the concept of regional control areas, the third seminar aims focuses on the assessment of the effectiveness of the joint deployment plans. From 27 to 29 June, around 40 representatives of all EU Member States, the European Commission and the Member States have analysed how to become more effective. This event served also as the public farewell of the first CFCA Executive Director, Harm Koster, who approaches the end of its mandate.
Harm Koster is positive about the work done in the Agency from its launching under its responsibility. “In 2006 we started with three persons in Brussels and now there is a team of about 60 persons of which 53 employees and the rest contractual agents and national coordinators all based in Vigo. The work of the Agency is well recognised and has made a succesful contribution notably in important fisheries such as cod in the Baltic Sea, and bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic,“ said Koster. “In its short life, the Agency has been able to facilitate strong leverage of Member State inspection means enabling inspection practices and operations to become more cost-effective by promoting a rational and complementary joint deployment of resources. It has made an important contribution to Member States´ enhanced operational cooperation and to demonstrably better compliance in several areas.”
The focus of the seminar has been to assess the effectiveness of the joint deployment plans (JDPs). The JDPs are the main tool at European Union level to ensure operational coordination of the control and inspection activities by the Member States (MS). In organising the best use of human and material resources pooled by MS under JDP’s in a coordinated way, European added-value has been generated when compared with stand-alone Member States operations, namely by promoting uniformity and effectiveness of control, increased transparency of the control activities, level playing field for fishing industry and cost-effective use of national control resources.
In assessing the effectiveness of the JDPs, the Member States representatives have analysed the full cycle of the JDP assessment, the measurement of the impact of the JDPs, the stock status and its cost effectiveness.
The Administrative Board of the Community Fisheries Control Agency, meeting in Vigo today, has announced the appointment of Mr Pascal Savouret as Executive Director. Mr Pascal Savouret, from France, has a solid background in fisheries control issues at European level. He has been Deputy Director for Fisheries at the French Direction of Fisheries and Aquaculture since 2009. He has twenty six year working experience in the Navy and in the French maritime affairs administration. He graduated at the Ecole d'administration des affaires maritimes in 1995.
The Agency is led by an Administrative Board, made up of one representative per Member State and six representatives of the Commission. The Administrative Board nominates the Executive Director for a period of five years. The vacancy notice for the new director was published on 30 March 2011, following a pre-selection by the European Commission, a final short list of candidates adopted by the College of Commissioner was presented to the CFCA Administrative Board. The Board has interviewed the candidates and appointed today the new Executive Director among the candidates.
The Executive Director is responsible for the execution of the Agency’s operational activities. He drafts the annual budget proposal and work programme after consulting the Commission and national authorities. He is independent from the Commission and Member States and is only answerable to the Administrative Board.
The Community Fisheries Control Agency (CFCA) has just started up a joint deployment plan (JDP) for pelagic fisheries in Western Waters of the North East Atlantic. This JDP gives effect to the European Commission specific control and inspection programme for these fisheries exploiting herring, mackerel, horse mackerel, anchovy and blue whiting.
The CFCA will coordinate the deployment of control and inspection means of the Member States, the organisation of mixed teams of inspectors of different nationalities and the exchange of information in real time of Member States competent authorities. The sharing of information will allow following a common inspection strategy according to the risk management. The Member States participating in the plan are Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Spain, France, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and United Kingdom.
This is the fifth joint deployment plan of the CFCA and already includes the elements that were the result of the reflection and evaluation of the JDPs that has been carried out jointly by the CFCA, the Member States and the European Commission during the annual JDP seminars held in Vigo. As a matter of fact, the plan will be carried out in a continuous and permanent manner and applied to a multispecies fishery. In addition, synergies will be looked into with other joint deployment plans in pursuit of a better cost-efficiency.
“Just starting my responsibilities at the helm of the CFCA, it is with great enthusiasm and dedication that I embrace this new plan for this important fishery where multiple operators from different nationalities are working. Our firm aim is to ensure that all fishermen are treated on equal footing and to foster transparency and cooperation in the control and inspection activities between Member States“said Pascal Savouret, CFCA Executive Director.
Within the framework of the joint deployment plan for cod in the North Sea coordinated by the Community Fisheries Control Agency (CFCA), a possible infringement, in which blinders were being utilised by a Dutch fishing vessel, was detected in the course of a joint operation involving three Member States (the Netherlands, France and Belgium). In fact, joint deployment plans are the vehicle through which the CFCA organises the deployment of national human and material means of control and inspection pooled by Member States, thus ensuring European Added Value in the Union monitoring control and surveillance efforts.
During a control operation on the 8th November, for which the French fisheries monitoring centre (FMC) at CROSS A Etel was in charge, the French inspection vessel Themis entered Belgian waters with French European Union inspectors on board, to inspect a Dutch beam trawler. When the inspector approached the vessel, the skipper ran off the warps from the winches dumping the beam trawls on the sea bed. In a coordinated action, the Dutch inspection vessel Barend Biesheuvel went to the location and, as the captain of the fishing vessel was not willing to be cooperative in bringing the gear above the surface, requested the Dutch coastguard vessel Arca to dredge the net; an operation which lasted two days. In addition, Belgium contributed to the operation, by having their fishing patrol vessel Zeehond dredging and finding the first net.
As a result of the operation, the inspectors found out the utilisation of ‘blinders’, illegal gear attachments which obstruct the mesh opening and reduce the selectivity of the net, contravening Commission Regulation EEC 3440/84. In addition, the skipper of the fishing vessel hindered the inspection by obstructing the control operation.
The value of the fish and both port and starboard trawls were confiscated. The fishing vessel’s skipper will be prosecuted in the Netherlands. This operation has only been possible thanks to the cooperation among the Member States authorities in the framework of the joint deployment plan for the cod in the North Sea.
The EFCA has adopted its annual report for 2011 at the meeting of the Administrative Board held on 15 of March. The annual report highlighted all the activities undertaken by the EFCA during that year. The meeting took place following a seminar on the five year independent external evaluation of the EFCA which conclusions have helped the Board in the issuing of recommendations to the European Commission.
This General Report has been adopted in the context of the ongoing CFP reform in the year in which the Council and the European Parliament will have their say in the legislative proposal of the Commission. In this framework, the Agency with its facilitator role, brokering operational cooperation between Member States and the Commission and giving assistance to them, is in the best position to make a tangible contribution towards the objectives of EU fisheries control policy: establishing and developing a culture of compliance and a level-playing field.
2011 results
According to the annual work programme, the four JDPs implemented were the cod fisheries in the North Sea and Western Waters, cod fisheries in Baltic sea, regulated species in NAFO and NEAFC, bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean Sea and Eastern Atlantic Ocean and as for the 5 September 2011, a JDP for Pelagic in Western Waters through the adoption of a Specific Control and Inspection programme by the Commission. In particular, this JDP has been the first regional and multispecies JDP operating in European Union waters, and has the characteristic of being permanent, with continuous exchange of information as well as having full communication of results and intelligence in real time basis.
During the last three years, the days of activity of JDPs have been reasonably constant. In 2011, whilst the days of activity remained constant, there was a significant increase of the total number of inspections from last year. The total number of inspections coordinated in the framework of the JDPs during 2011 is approaching 10000 in the JDPs coordinated by the EFCA.
It can be observed that the ration of infringements at sea and ashore has been decreasing in the past years. This decrease can be observed against a scenario of increased number of inspections, and the progressive introduction of a risk assessment approach with an increased infringement detection rate for target vessels. Based on this figures, it is difficult to conclude if compliance levels are increasing, as many other factors could be involved in this issue. Yet, this trend is certainly encouraging for all parties involved in fisheries control.
One of the key aspects in the promotion of a level playing field is the creation of joint teams of inspectors of different nationalities and the training of inspectors. During 2011, approximately, 1600 man/days were deployed in joint teams and a total of nearly 300 staff members from Member States received training for regional JDPs.
In the area of Capacity Building to apply the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy by Member States in a uniform way, the agency has worked in the areas of data monitoring and networks, training and pool capacities.
Seminar on the five year independent external evaluation of the EFCA
The day before the Administrative Board meeting, a seminar was organised on the five year independent external evaluation of the EFCA. It was be a forum were open discussions took place debating and analyzing the work that has been done since the setting up of the EFCA and its way forward. Representatives of the Administrative Board as well as several stakeholders participated in the conference which conclusions and feedback would bring valuable input to the Board in the issuing of recommendations to the European Commission.
Proposed Draft Budget for 2012
The proposed draft budget for 2013 is the same as the final budget for 2012: €9,216,900.
“The EFCA will be working with the same determination and even more ambition in the difficult context of financial and staff constraints. I am confident that together, in cooperation with the European Commission and the Member States, we will be able to deliver the best results and an effective European added value,” said Pascal Savouret, Executive Director.
This year, for the fifth time, the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) in cooperation with the Member States concerned (Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Malta and Cyprus) and the European Commission is coordinating a joint deployment plan to monitor all aspects of the bluefin tuna fishery and ensure the implementation of the rules. The JDP has put all the necessary measures in place to ensure that the EU fishing fleet and fleets from other ICCAT Contracting Parties fully respects the rules not only during the main fishing season for purse seiners but until the end of the campaign. The EFCA will still coordinate the fishery for the remainder of the year.
During the JDP for bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic in 2012 there have been up to 84 days of activity on land carried out, 122 at sea and 168 hours of aerial surveillance. In total, there were 343 inspections carried out. There have been 32 possible non compliances detected up to now.
Besides brokering cooperation between Member States, the EFCA has been the catalyser of a maritime surveillance pilot project supported by European interagency cooperation involving EFCA, EMSA FRONTEX and ESA and providing for an integrated maritime picture. In addition, other cooperation areas have been developed such as the sharing of control and inspection means and the exchange of best practices or training activities.
Seminar in Vigo on control of the Bluefin tuna fishery
On the 28-29 June a seminar with the participation of the European Union and other ICCAT Contracting Parties on the monitoring and control of bluefin tuna fisheries has been organised by EFCA in Vigo. Representatives from Algeria, Croatia, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Turkey, Spain, France, Italy, Malta and the European Commission have been invited. The seminar has revolved around the experiences of the ICCAT CPCs about recent developments in the control of the bluefin tuna fishery, the results of the EU JDP and an exchange of views on pilot projects and sampling plans, video records as a tool to control the transfers, and specific aspects related to trap activities, other gears and traceability.
The European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) has included Baltic salmon stocks into the current joint deployment plan (JDP) in the Baltic Sea in line with the amendment of the European Commission specific control and inspection programme for the cod stocks in the Baltic Sea.
Recent advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) suggests that significant part of catches from the Baltic salmon fishery may be misreported, which may have serious negative impact on the status of that stock. The EFCA's most important role is to coordinate the control efforts of Member States to improve the fisheries control and to create a level playing field for all participants in the fishery.
The EFCA will coordinate the deployment of control and inspection means of the Member States in the Baltic Sea, the organisation of mixed teams of inspectors of different nationalities and the exchange of information in real time between Member States competent authorities. The sharing of information will allow following a common inspection strategy according to the risk management.
“In general, the JDP for cod socks in the Baltic Sea has resulted in enhanced cooperation between Member States, not only at sea or in ports but also on a managerial level. Knowledge has been extensively exchanged and inspectors are now fully aware of existing similarities and differences related to inspection work. With the addition of the control of salmon in this area we are taking the experience to the next level improving the efficiency of the JDP,” said Pascal Savouret, Executive Director of the EFCA.
On the 23 October a meeting was held between the European Fisheries Control Agency and the Croatian Authorities in Split (Croatia) in order to establish a roadmap on their future cooperation in Fisheries control in view to the Croatian accession to the European Union in the next month of July 2013. Croatia will be the 28th Member State to be part of the European and Fisheries has a great socioeconomic importance for the country.
Several actions have been envisaged in order to assist Croatia in taking part of the European fisheries control activities from 1 July 2013. The participation of Croatia in the different structures of the EFCA such as the Bluefin tuna joint deployment plan has been agreed. In addition, other actions have been examined such as the possible exchange of data and inspectors, the provision of training on issues such as blue fin tuna in the Mediterranean or the EU control policy and the Croatian contribution to the core curricula which is being developed by the EFCA.
“Croatia is a crucial player in the Mediterranean and the EFCA is ready to welcome them in their work so that they can have an active part in the coordination activities that the EFCA carries out. A positive cooperation with Croatian Authorities will bring a great added value to the exchange of knowledge and best practice in fisheries control that EFCA fosters with a view of creating a culture of compliance of the Common Fisheries Policy,” said Pascal Savouret, Executive Director of the EFCA.
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