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Barcelona, Cambrils, Turku. Once again, EU cities have been hit by terror and flags are flying half-masted in the main institutional buildings.
The European Fisheries Control Agency staff would like to express their strong condemnation to these criminal attacks and their support to the work being carried out by all EU national authorities to fight the scourge of violence.
Interagency cooperation between EFCA and the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) was taken a step further following a request for an inspection vessel by EFCA. EMSA identified the Aegis I vessel as the most suitable option for EFCA’s needs, given the vessel’s characteristics and usual area of operation.
EFCA has implemented a pilot project for fisheries control to improve compliance with the adopted conservation measures in the Strait of Sicily as regards hake and deep water rose shrimp following 2016 General Fisheries Council for the Mediterranean (GFCM’s) recommendation. The pilot project coordinated by EFCA, also represents the first tangible result towards the commitment made at the Malta Medfish4ever ministerial declaration, in particular to develop a culture of compliance and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the area and supporting the GFCM in the development of control systems and where appropriate, Joint Schemes of International Inspection.
The Malta Declaration acknowledged that control and inspection are essential elements for the success of conservation and management measures in the Mediterranean. Indeed, this unique basin which provides jobs for over 300 000 people and in which about 90% of assessed stocks are over-exploited, requires that the different states in the area cooperate as fish do not understand about borders. A cooperation between all the basin countries is a precondition for a culture of compliance in the area.
The objective of the pilot project was to explore the possibilities for implementing cooperation in the GFCM area among its contracting parties and to highlight the need for an International Control Scheme in the area to ensure compliance and a level playing field for all the fleets operating in international waters.
The pilot project aimed at promoting regional cooperation and integrated control measures and providing the tools and experience to GFCM in order to support and enhance their conservation and management measures. It has been implemented on request of the European Commission, in full consultation with Member States and with the involvement of some non EU countries concerned, namely Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia. In the framework of the EU Coastguard cooperation with the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) and the European Boarder and Coastguard Agency (FRONTEX), the EFCA has made use of the sharing of assets and information that this synergy provides.
The project has focused on the following activities: training, data exchange, the joint inspections at sea and the use of new technologies. At the end of the year, common implementation rules and infringement procedures will be explored.
In summary, the following results should be highlighted:
Control operations and joint inspections were undertaken in the area from August to September during the period of closure for fishing activities. Two patrol vessels and one aircraft operated by EFCA in cooperation with EMSA and FRONTEX were operative in the area with presence of inspectors from Egypt and Tunisia, and from Member States, as Malta, Greece and Italy. A total of 70 inspections at sea were implemented with around 30% of possible non-compliance cases detected. Exchange of information and a joint coordination was ensured from EFCA during all the operational activities.
Three training sessions have been delivered for 34 inspectors and trainers from third countries.
"The pilot project sets a precedent in demonstrating that cooperation is possible among the GFCM contracting parties and shows their will to concretise the political commitments made at the MedFish4ever declaration," said Pascal Savouret.
The European Fisheries Control Agency has adopted its Programming Document for 2018 in its Administrative Board meeting of 18 October 2017. The activities and required resources defined in the Programming Document serve as the necessary means to further strengthen EFCA's capacity in achieving its mission and tasks. It also implements the Administrative Board's recommendations drawn up by the second five-year evaluation for the years 2012-2017 that confirmed EFCA’s added value to the overall achievement of the Common Fisheries Policy, for an enhanced culture of compliance leading to more sustainable practices for the environment in the long-term.
The Programming Document confirms that the core mission of the Agency will continue to be enshrined in the coordination of Member States' control and inspection activities. This includes assisting them in the implementation of joint deployment plans (JDP), as well as developing harmonised and cost-effective methodologies for fisheries monitoring, control and surveillance.
Moreover, the delivery of EFCA's new tasks in the framework of the Coast Guard function, including fostering collaboration with both FRONTEX and EMSA, will remain high on the Agency's agenda. EFCA's active participation in multipurpose operations with those agencies will translate into a direct contribution to the Union fisheries control regime, as well as the fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing.
EFCA's innovative contributions beyond EU borders will become even more apparent in the coming months with the full implementation of the cooperation project – PESCAO – with the purpose of increasing fisheries control activities through capacity building and trainings in West Africa, as well as with the follow-up actions to the pilot project for coordinating control activities in the Mediterranean in the context of GFCM.
“As a result, EFCA's work programme for 2018 will build upon its proven expertise in coordinating fisheries control as well as training and capacity building activities, thus contributing to a uniform and effective implementation of the Common Fisheries Policy, including in its external dimension,” said Pascal Savouret, Executive Director.
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.
On 30 November, EFCA co-hosted in Madrid the second annual meeting of the Coast Guard Functions Implementing Group, co-chaired with the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex).
During the meeting the agencies presented the activities carried out in the framework of the support to the coast guard functions. The meeting was also an important moment to discuss the projects that will be developped to provide assistance to Member States.
The European Fisheries Control Agency’s (EFCA) chartered vessel AEGIS I is since the 1st December deployed in the Adriatic Sea within the joint deployment plan of the Mediterranean. For this patrol EFCA is collaborating with Greece, Italy and Croatia who have deployed inspectors on board EFCA's vessel for all or part of the period.
Following the publication of an open call for tender, the EFCA has awarded the contract for chartering an offshore EU fisheries patrol vessel to a consortium led by Sentinel Marine Ltd for the vessel Lundy Sentinel, a British flagged Multi-Role Field Support Emergency Response and Rescue Vessel (ERRV) built in 2015.
The General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) has recently issued a recommendation regarding a multiannual management plan for turbot in the Black Sea (GFCM/41/2017/4).
In order to ensure compliance with the recommendation, a new pilot project has been launched to prepare the establishment of a voluntary observation and inspection programme before the end of 2019. The project will promote compliance and level playing field, in particular with regard to total allowed catches (TAC) and quotas regime, technical measures, closure periods, fishing effort limits and market related measures.
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