Denmark has established two new Real-Time Closures (RCT) in their waters of The Skagerrak :
For the period from the 8 of March 2022 to the 29 of March 2022 at midnight (see more information).
Denmark has established two new Real-Time Closures (RCT) in their waters of The Skagerrak :
For the period from the 8 of March 2022 to the 29 of March 2022 at midnight (see more information).
Denmark has established a new Real-Time Closure (RTC) in their waters of The Skagerrak :
For the period from the 29 of March 2022 to the 19 of April 2022 at midnight (see more information).
During its meeting held in Vigo, hybrid for the first time, EFCA Administrative Board adopted the Annual Report reflecting all the activities undertaken by the EFCA during 2021, an outstanding year for EFCA due to increased resources and growing tasks.
Fabrizio Donatella, Director of Fisheries Policy Atlantic, North Sea, Baltic and Outermost Regions in the Directorate General for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs of the European Commission (EC), has been elected the new Chairman of the EFCA Administrative Board.
In 2021, the European Fisheries Control Agency combined its core tasks of operational coordination and fisheries control with its contribution to the EU Coast Guard cooperation.
These were the main highlights:
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank sincerely EFCA staff for their welcome, excellence and professionalism. Also, I want to thank the Member States and the European Commission for their trust in me in the important task we have ahead. This is an agency dedicated to sustainability – who lives by living blue in its actions. We are committed to setting sails as we move forward towards the vision of a sustainable future for our oceans,” said Susan Steele EFCA Executive Director.
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 CFP 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 representatives of the European Commission and one representative per Member State. The Administrative Board holds a meeting at least once a year.
The company Ipsos has been commissioned to undertake a survey as part of the Independent External Evaluation of the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA), for the period 2017-2021.
The evaluation seeks to assess EFCA’s working practices, performance, and activities, as well as its impact on the achievement of compliance with the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The evaluation also explores the potential need to make changes to EFCA’s tasks, scope, structure, functions, and working practices. The survey will contribute to the evidence base for this evaluation.
Your participation in this survey is essential to provide a complete and balanced assessment of EFCA, and it is an opportunity for you to contribute to shaping the future of EFCA and of the EU’s fisheries control activities.
To fill in the survey, please use this link.
The survey will take around 15 minutes to complete and it will be open until 29/04/2022.
Denmark has established a new Real-Time Closure (RTC) in their waters of The Skagerrak :
For the period from the 20 of April 2022 to the 4 of may 2022, included (See more Information).
Belgium has established a new Real-Time Closure (RTC) in the North Sea:
For the period from the 23 of April 2022 to the 14 of May 2022 (See more Information).
The area is closed for fishery except for the following gears:
(a) pelagic trawls, purse seines, driftnets and jiggers targeting herring,
mackerel, and horse mackerel;
(b) pots;
(c) scallop dredges; and
(d) gillnets
Sweden has established a new Real-Time Closure (RTC) in their waters of The Skagerrak for the PRA juveniles :
For the period from the 29 of April 2022 to the 13 of may 2022 (See more Information).
The area is closed for fishery targeting northern prawns using demersal trawls with a mesh size of at least 35mm and a sorting grid with a minimum bar spacing of 19 mm. Fishing targeting northern prawns in the closed area is allowed when both of the following criteria are met;
- Vessels using a bottom trawl with a mesh size in the extension piece and codend of at least 35 mm, equipped with a sorting grid with a maximum bar spacing of 19 mm in the upper part of the grid and a minimum bar spacing of 9,5 mm in the lower part of the grid. Behind the lower part of the grid is an unblocked outlet to the seafloor. Mesh size of at least 35 mm applies posterior to the sorting grid.
- Vessels wishing to use that exemption shall notify their intention and gear use to the Fisheries Monitoring Centre of the coastal Member State before entering the closed area. The notification can be made via phone +46 771 10 15 00 or via email fmc@havochvatten.se
The European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) have signed a cooperation agreement in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), concluded for an initial duration of two years.
EFCA and EUSPA share common objectives with regards to safer, more sustainable and efficient maritime operations. This cooperation will further strengthen EFCA’s capabilities when it comes to modern and emerging technologies and services, which could be made available to Member States fisheries control authorities. This would lead to an improved capacity for detecting, identifying and categorisation of suspected non-compliance fishing activities, providing additional tools for the operational activities coordinated by EFCA.
More specifically, EFCA will benefit from the added value of Galileo, the European global navigation satellite system , managed by EUSPA. EFCA and EUSPA have identified some initial EU funded projects which could be of common relevance: Bluebox Porbeagle VMS, on the position of vessels computed with Galileo and authenticated with OS-NMA; and GAMBAS, within the scope of search and rescue activities.
As part of its work, EFCA assesses the added value of innovative vessel detection and earth observation technologies offered by Copernicus in support of maritime surveillance and fisheries control activities. Given the operational reality and specificities of fisheries monitoring, control and surveillance, and its connection with the EU Maritime Security Strategy, EFCA as a central hub, seeks to further develop and expand its services in support of Member States fisheries control authorities.
EUSPA will offer its technical expertise in satellite navigation as well as its market knowhow in GNSS and Earth Observation to produce together with EFCA joint studies and develop space solutions that will positively contribute to the EU’s blue economy.
Background
EFCA is a European Union agency. The agency’s mission is to promote the highest common standards for control, inspection and surveillance under the CFP. The EFCA will function at the highest level of excellence and transparency with a view to developing the necessary confidence and cooperation of all parties involved and, in so doing, to ensure effectiveness and efficiency of its operations.
EUSPA’s core mission is to implement the EU Space Programme and to provide reliable, safe and secure space-related services, maximising their socio-economic benefits for European society and business. By fostering the development of innovative and competitive upstream and downstream sectors and engaging with the entire EU Space community, EUSPA is driving innovation-based growth in the European economy and contributing to the safety of EU citizens and the security of the Union and its Member States, while at the same time reinforcing the EU’s strategic autonomy.
The European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) is coordinating the European control campaign for bluefin tuna in the framework of its Joint Deployment Plan (JDP). In this context, Member States (MS) pool their control and inspection means to jointly implement control, monitoring and surveillance activities.
The objective of the control campaign is to ensure compliance with the international and EU rules adopted for the conservation of the bluefin tuna. In this framework, EFCA has been also assisting EU MS in the training to their national inspectors in preparation of the campaign. 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 through EFCA coordination centre with the participation of experts from the eight Member States involved in the fishery. Overall, inspection and surveillance strategy and daily recommendations are provided on the basis of the data and information received by national authorities and ICCAT in the context of the Joint Scheme of International Inspection.
Background
EU fleet accounts for 66 active purse seiners and hosts bluefin tuna farms in three Member States. On 26 May the bluefin tuna purse seiner fishing season starts for the capture, live transport and caging for farming purposes of this species. 192 purse seiner vessels flying EU and third countries flag will be operating until the 1 July in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea. This species has been subject to new management and control measures adopted in 2021 by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and the fishery is subject to Joint Scheme of International Inspection in international waters.
In line with ICCAT Recommendation 21-08, 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, with possibilities for extension upon ICCAT Contracting Parties request. Fish will be caged for farming purposes before 22 August and no later than 7 September 2022.
EFCA is a European Union agency. The agency’s mission is to promote the highest common standards for control, inspection and surveillance under the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The EFCA will function at the highest level of excellence and transparency with a view to developing the necessary confidence and cooperation of all parties involved and, in so doing, to ensure effectiveness and efficiency of its operations. EFCA also supports the European Union in the international dimension of the CFP.
The European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) supports the EU project “Mediterranean virtual regional training academy on fisheries control and inspection (e-FishMed)", which has kicked off today in a first meeting with representatives from the participating countries, the European Commission and the consortium of the WestMed Assistance Mechanism.
The e-FishMed project will set up a virtual regional academy to support the fight against IUU fishing and the control of conservation and management measures in the Mediterranean Sea, especially those adopted by the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) and the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).
An e-learning platform will be at the core of the project, improving the effectiveness of training activities aimed to reinforce knowledge and competences of fisheries control and inspection staff. The virtual academy will contribute to harmonise fisheries control and inspection activities and foster cooperation and exchange of best practices between northern and southern Mediterranean countries. The project will also contribute to create the conditions for a sustainable Blue Economy in that area.
Financed by the European Union with 1 million euros through the European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF), e-FishMed is implemented by EFCA and will last three years. Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia will be the beneficiaries of the project and the initiative will be technically supported by France, Italy, Malta, Portugal, and Spain. In the future, the project could be extended to other Mediterranean countries.
"The e-FishMed project will be catalyst for a stronger cooperation on fisheries control and sustainable blue economy in the Mediterranean region. It represents another example of EFCA added value in contributing to a culture of compliance by fostering an efficient and uniform implementation of the rules, in particular those adopted by GFCM and ICCAT", said Susan Steele, EFCA Executive Director.
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 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.