Read in EFCA Publications: EFCA Multiannual Work Programme 2023-2026 Work Programme 2023
In this episode of Ocean, we step on board the Ocean Sentinel patrol vessel to see first-hand how EU member states and agencies are working together to enforce fishing regulations in the Adriatic Sea.
The European coast guard community is one of the major protagonists of the Green Deal – every day the coast guards and authorities deal with the greatest environment on earth – that of marine ecosystems and biodiversity and address the challenge of climate change. The Greening Award Initiative is meant to award those who have risen to the challenge and proposed greening activities in their daily mission, work, and campaigns.
The Greening Award Initiative aims to celebrate the sustainability actions that are carried out and developed across more than 300 authorities that make up the European Coast Guard community.
This initiative recognises projects and activities developed by authorities carrying out Coast Guard Functions which empower a green transition, contribute to a more sustainable future, and which directly or indirectly support the goals of the European Green Deal.
Announced in the framework of the Annual European Coast Guard Event held in Lisbon in 2023, the Greening Award Initiative is open to any entity or institution executing Coast Guard Functions within the European Union, Norway, and Iceland.
The Greening Award Initiative is jointly organised by the three European Agencies tasked with supporting national authorities carrying out Coast Guard Functions: the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA); the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA); and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex).
Award categories
The Greening Award Initiative has three different categories: Greening Operations; Outreach and Awareness; and Greening at Work.
Greening Operations: this category encompasses operational actions and projects that have led to an improved environmental footprint. Actions and projects that have engaged and involved communities internal and external to the submitting organisation are covered by this category, as are collaborative actions which may involve knowledge transfer inside or outside the organisation.
Outreach and awareness raising: this category showcases the public-facing activities that authorities engaged in Coast Guard Functions and have activated on sustainability themes. Public campaigns, open days, events, etc., are all covered by this category.
Greening at work: this category focuses on the practical application of sustainability in the workplace. It can include individual actions (for example, banning single use plastics, offsetting emissions) or larger-scale projects (for example, Eco-Management and Audit Scheme –EMAS registration for an organisation).
How to enter
Entries can be submitted through the Greening Award Initiative entry form before 31 March 2024. For more information on the Awards, the Rules, and the application process, please consult the Greening Award Initiative web page on the European Cooperation on Coast Guard Functions portal.
The Awards
The Awards will be presented at a special ceremony during the Annual European Coast Guard Event 2024, organised by the European Fisheries Control Agency.
Today, the Administrative Board of the Community Fisheries Control Agency held its 5th meeting in Vigo. The main item on the agenda was the adoption of the proposal for a draft budget for the year 2008, which was accompanied by a staffing plan and a document outlining the options for next year's operational work programme.
The operational priorities for 2008 are in principle the same as in 2007: Joint Deployment Plans for the North Sea and adjacent areas and the Baltic Sea; coordination of control and inspections of bluefin tuna fisheries as well as involvement in the execution of the Community Action Plan to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fisheries (IUU). The Agency will also coordinate control and inspections in the regulatory areas of the North-west Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO) and the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC). The final budget and work programme will be adopted by the Board in October.
The preliminary draft budget for 2008 would be substantially increased compared to the one in 2007, due to the increased activity of the newly operational Agency, and the costs of relocation to Vigo and foreseeable contractual services to the Member States at their request and expense. These services relate inter alia to control and inspections in connection with Member States' obligations in EU and international waters. One such action could be to charter an inspection vessel for joint inspections in the NAFO Regulatory Area on behalf of Member States.
Total budget 2007 (wholly contributed by the Community) | € 5.000.000 |
Total budget 2008 (including costs of relocation to Vigo and revenue for contractual services to Member States) | € 9.300.000 |
Community contribution 2008 | € 7.300.000 |
Another important item on the agenda was the timing and the arrangements for the Agency's relocation from Brussels to its seat in Vigo. The headquarter of the Agency will be located in a building designated by the Spanish authorities, which will be renovated and should be ready for occupation in May 2009. The Agency is now exploring, together with the Spanish authorities, the possibilities to find temporary office space in Vigo until the renovation is completed.
"There is full agreement between us and the Spanish authorities on the importance of relocating the Agency to its seat in Vigo as soon as possible, for the proper functioning of the Agency. Our discussions with the Spanish government have been constructive and held in a cordial atmosphere. I welcome the efforts made by Spain to find a practicable solution", commented Mr Harm Koster, Executive Director of the Agency.
EU Member States around the Baltic Sea are embarking on a period of intense co-operation in the area of fisheries control and inspection, co-ordinated by the Community Fisheries Control Agency (CFCA). The CFCA has developed a test joint inspection and surveillance scheme for the Baltic Sea cod stocks, with active participation of all eight Member States in the region, to fine-tune the mechanisms for Member State co-operation. Under this new form for cooperation, patrol vessels will enter into waters under the jurisdiction of other Member States to carry out inspections. The results of the tests will be highly relevant in the development of future Joint Deployment Plans.
This is the first time that the CFCA coordinates control and inspection activities with Member States in Community waters. The first test campaign will start on 7 May with Denmark as the lead partner. The campaigns are scheduled to continue until the end of the year.
"I am proud that the Agency has been able to pull together this scheme within the first four months of its existence. The Member States have invested a lot of effort in the development of this intensified co-operation, which aims to protect and rebuild the fragile Baltic cod stocks, ensure a level playing field for all fishermen in the area, and make best use of Member States control resources to work towards a culture of compliance. After each test campaign we will assess its strengths and weaknesses together with Member States to fine-tune the following campaigns. We will have a close dialogue with stakeholders through the Regional Advisory Council of the Baltic Sea, to make sure that their views can be taken into account at an early stage, as we develop the blueprints for future Joint Deployment Plans", commented Mr Harm Koster, Executive Director of the CFCA.
The Joint Inspection and Surveillance Scheme (JISS) is designed to deploy resources pooled by Member States (human resources as well as physical means of control and inspections, such as vessels, airplanes and infrastructure). The test campaigns, which will be carried out to identify the most efficient way of pooling resources and avoid unnecessary disruption of fishing activities, will be managed by a lead partner, helped and advised by an experienced coordinator from the CFCA. So far, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Latvia and Germany have been appointed to take the lead for different campaigns, which will be scheduled to take place at difference locations and times depending on the seasonal variations in the fisheries. The joint inspections will be carefully planned to make best use of the resources and to focus on areas with a high concentration of fishing activity at different times during the season, at sea as well as at the landing sites. Obviously, the detailed planning of the test campaigns will not be disclosed beforehand.
The multinational nature of the JISS means that a fishing vessel from one Member State, fishing in waters of a second Member State, can be hailed by an inspection vessel from a third Member State and boarded and inspected by Community inspectors from a fourth. For principal and practical reasons, all control and inspection vessels operating in the waters of a particular Member State will carry at least one inspector from that Member State.
The development of a JISS by the CFCA for the Baltic Sea cod stocks was decided in October 2006, when the fishing opportunities for Baltic Sea fish stocks were adopted by the Fisheries Council. The JISS can be seen as a forerunner of the future Joint Deployment Plan for the Baltic Sea cod stocks, which will be developed as soon as a specific control and monitoring plan has been adopted by the Commission.
Today, the Community Fisheries Control Agency (CFCA) adopted an operational plan for joint multi-national fishery controls in the North Sea and adjacent areas. This marks the start of an innovative and coordinated effort to combat over-fishing and save endangered cod stocks. This joint deployment plan for the North Sea will pool resources (inspectors, control vessels, aircraft, etc), from seven coastal Member States and use them to ensure more effective and uniform control of fishing activities. The plan, which consists of seven cross border inspection and surveillance campaigns, will run until the end of the year. Similar plans will be put in place in the other EU fishing areas.
"I very much welcome this first joint deployment plan under the aegis of the new Community Fisheries Control Agency. Such plans will ensure that available resources are used in the most efficient and effective way. The Member States involved show a very good example of cooperation both among themselves and with the new fisheries control Agency. Such plans will help increase fishermen's confidence and trust in more uniform fisheries control and inspection throughout the Union", commented Joe Borg, European Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs.
"The adoption of the first joint deployment plan is a milestone for the Community Fisheries Control Agency. I am pleased that we have been able to coordinate this complex venture during the first six months of our Agency being in operation; and doubly pleased that the Member States have been so willing and able to contribute to our efforts! This gives rise to hopes that the benefits of the plan will stretch far beyond the seven inspection campaigns, to foster more cooperation overall, and further harmonisation of fisheries controls, thus creating a level playing field for fishermen in all EU waters", commented Harm Koster, Executive Director of the CFCA.
The joint deployment plan for the North Sea, Kattegat, Skagerrak and the Eastern Channel is the first of its kind. It coordinates the use of resources pooled by seven EU Member States: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The focus of the plan is the monitoring programme for the recovery of cod stocks, which was established in 2005. The inspections and surveillance activities will concentrate on fishing vessels using gear types that are likely to catch cod either as a targeted fishery or as by-catch. There will also be inspections of transport and marketing of cod.
Each of the seven joint campaigns will be steered each time by one of the Member State, supported by the CFCA. The inspection teams will be mixed, and the inspection vessels and surveillance aircraft will be pooled from different Member States. Inspection vessels will be able to enter into the fishing zones of another Member State. They will, however, need the consent of that Member State for access to its territorial waters and should carry at least one inspector from the country concerned. The Member States have been requested to give prior consent for access to territorial waters by all inspections vessels and surveillance aircraft that will be used in the different campaigns.
Under the Common Fisheries Policy, each Member State is responsible for ensuring the proper application of fisheries measures in its own waters and on its own territory. In response to the need for a level playing field for EU fishermen, and to foster a culture of compliance with fisheries rules, the Community Fisheries Control Agency was established as part of the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) in 2002. Operational since the beginning of 2007, the Agency aims to organise coordination and cooperation between national control and inspection activities, so that the rules of the CFP are respected and applied effectively. The seat of the Agency is in Vigo, Spain. It is provisionally located in Brussels.
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:
With the adoption of five joint deployment plans for the year 2009, the CFCA has started executing the 2009 work programme. Three joint deployment plans (JDPs) will cover the same fisheries as in 2008, the regulated fisheries in the North Atlantic Fisheries Organisation RA and the cod fisheries in the Baltic Sea, North Sea and adjacent areas. In addition, two new JDPs will cover the cod fisheries in Western Waters and the regulated fisheries in waters beyond national fisheries jurisdiction in the North Eastern Atlantic (NEAFC).
"The pooling of resources and information as well as of expertise through these joint deployment plans is a great contribution towards a level playing field'' said Harm Koster, CFCA Executive Director.
The joint deployment plans are the vehicle through which the Agency organises operational coordination between Member States. Member States pool the national human and material means of control and inspection under the JDPs whilst the CFCA coordinates the deployment of these means. In Community waters, two criteria have to be met before the JDPs can be established. The fish stocks concerned must be subject to a long-term recovery plan or a multi-annual management plan. In addition, a specific control and enforcement plan, adopted by the Commission, must be in place. The Executive Director of the CFCA adopted these five joint deployment plans in close cooperation with the Member States concerned and the Commission. In the NAFO and NEAFC RA, the Commission has entrusted the Agency with the inspection activities, trough carrying out JDPs both at sea and at landing, which are delivering the international activities of the EU.
During 2008, four JDPs were established in the regulated fisheries in the NAFO RA, the cod fisheries in the Baltic Sea, North Sea and adjacent areas as well as the bluefin tuna fisheries in the Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic. In total, 2787 inspections took place and 241 infringements were detected. In 2009, with a more ambitious work programme, besides the JDPs for these fisheries, two new JDPs have been adopted.
The five joint deployment plans adopted have brokered cooperation between 15 Member States working together in the different areas concerned. In particular, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Poland, Finland, Belgium, and the United Kingdom.
Community Fisheries Control Agency inaugurates its premises in Vigo on 19 of July
The Community Fisheries Control Agency will celebrate the launch event of its seat in Vigo next Saturday, 19th of July. It will gather representatives of the European institutions, the Spanish and Galician governments, members of the Administrative and Advisory Board of the Agency as well as chairmen of the Regional Advisory Councils (RACs). The Ambassadors of Member States in Spain have also been invited along with prominent personalities from the Fisheries domain.
The event will start with the signature of the Headquarters Agreement between the Government of Spain and the Community Fisheries Control Agency. Afterwards, the official opening of its provisional premises in the García Barbón Street will take place and, lastly, there will be an opening ceremony at the Centro Social Caixanova in Vigo. These events will be preceded by a press conference on Friday afternoon when the work of the Agency will be presented in more detail to the media.
Vigo, seat of the Agency
The decision of Spain (Vigo) as the seat of the Agency has been taken by the Heads of State and Government at a meeting of the European Council in December 2003, and has been reflected on the foundational regulation of the Agency. The Agency, still based in Brussels, started its operations by implementing its first annual work programme. With its consolidation, the Agency has been relocated to its seat, at Vigo.
About the Agency
The Community Fisheries Control Agency is an essential tool for the effective application of the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy, with a view to ensuring the sustainability of Europe's fisheries sector. Proposed in 2002 as part of the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, its main mission is to coordinate the activities of control and inspection of the Member States and the fight against illegal fishing.