iFish.info - Information Portal about the European Fishing Industry
EU fishing sector demands realism and flexibility in face of the imminent arrival of the "perfect storm"
Europêche urges European Commission to remove zero tariff quotas on 22,000 tonnes of tuna loins from South-east Asian countries
Why do we need large scale vessels?
Sectoral Social Dialogue comments on driftnets
Europeche Strengthens its work
Significant progress in achieving sustainable fisheries in the EU
ifish.info Information portal for the European fishing industry
EU Parliament vote on multi-annual plan for demersal fish stocks in the North Sea poses concerns to industry
Commissioner Vella committed to supporting EU long distance fishing fleet
Lack of implementation of EU funds hampers efforts to achieve CFP objectives
Success story for European fisheries and policies
Press Releases

Mandatory cameras overshadow the revision of fisheries control rules
This morning, the European Parliament adopted its position on a new set of rules meant to revise the Union Fisheries Control System. In general terms, the Parliament position improves the proposal from the European Commission modernising control and enforcement measures without penalising or creating excessive bureaucracy to fishers. Particularly positive were the changes introducing more flexibility on the margin of tolerance for weight estimates done by fishers on board and the exemption of engine power monitoring devices for fisheries subject to catch limits. However, there is a huge elephant in the room, the mandatory installation of cameras to control a failed EU policy, the landing obligation. In this context, Europêche hopes that governments address this “big brother” issue within the Council in the following months.

Open letter to Commissioner Sinkevicius criticising the spread of damaging information
Last Friday an “explanatory note” on the revision of the EU-fisheries control system1 was reportedly circulated by the European Commission services to a few Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), mainly within the Committee on Environment. The note sounded the alarm about the position democratically adopted in the Committee on Fisheries (PECH) which “could reward and legalise underreporting, lead to massive overfishing and allow illegal discards to continue undetected and threaten the sustainable exploitation of marine biological resources”. According to Europêche, these statements unfairly put into question the good record of compliance of EU fleets, damages the image of the sector, lacks empathy with fishers and connection with fisheries’ realities. On top of that, the note clearly interferes the independent co-legislator role of the European Parliament.

EU tuna fleets urge IOTC to close drift net fishing loopholes - It is high time to start using the stick rather than the carrot -
Large pelagic drift nets, are nets of over 2,5-kilometer-long and many meters deep, that are left drifting in the ocean to catch any living creature that happens to swim by. The international community and the EU have long adopted a global moratorium on all large-scale pelagic drift-nets fishing in the world’s oceans and seas, especially to catch migratory species such as tuna. However, their use is still overspread, especially in the Indian Ocean, responsible nowadays for around 20% of the total catches of yellowfin tuna and high levels of by-catch of threatened and protected species such as sharks, marine mammals and turtles. The tuna fishing industry represented by Europêche calls on the EU and IOTC parties to stop turning a blind eye on this long-lasting problem and make a stand against these illegal practices during the next IOTC meeting.
News

iFish, We Fish
The commercial fisheries of the EU stretch for thousands of square miles, from the inhospitable seas of the Arctic North, to the warmer and more favourable climes of the Southern Mediterranean. These communal waters harbour a plethora of commercial species of fish and shellfish, the landings of which form an integral part of the economies of 23 member countries, accounting for a colossal 4.9 million tonne catch, from a fleet of 87,500 vessels, a statistic that indicates a world ranking of 5th largest in terms of total output.
European Projects

The Catching the Potential Project was officially kicked off on the 28th of May with the project consortium from seven EU Member States. In the course of the next three years, we will work together on the project's goal to develop an European, perhaps international, standard in the field of sustainability training for fishers.

Catching the potential’s ultimate goal is to develop a European standard for sustainable fisheries training. Learn more about the steps of the project.

The project as a whole, consists in partially implementing the work programme of the Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for Sea Fishing in order to significantly make progress in various key areas of interest for Social Partners. The main issues covered by the project are mainly dealing with how to improve health, working conditions and safety at sea of our fishermen.
Home by the Sea -Can fisheries and wind farms co-exist?
Sustainable fishing activities require space as does the development and operation of offshore wind farms. In order to safeguard the future of our seas and oceans, the EU adopted back in 2014 a Directive for maritime and coastal spatial planning urging Member States to ensure that human activities at sea take place in an efficient, safe and sustainable way and reduce users’ conflicts. At the same time, to tackle climate change, EU governments are determined to answer to the EU’s Paris Agreement nationally determined contribution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by 2030 compared to 1990. For this purpose, some countries are pushing to increase offshore wind power 40-fold by 2030 in Europe.Needless to say, the European wind industry has an ambitious plan, hereby claiming a vast amount of space. Therefore, the question 'Can fisheries and wind farms co-exist?’ is a relevant but complex question which will become more pressing in the near future.
Home by the Sea by Hiske Ridder. www.conpuls.nl
On behalf of and many thanks to: Job Schot, Dirk Kraak and Cor Vonk, www.vissersvoorvrijezee.nl. Julien Theore, Silvain Gallaisl and Olivier Becquet, https://pecheursartisans.com. Bertrand Wendling, https://sathoan.fr. Pim Visser, VisNed.nl. Rosalie Tukker, http://europeche.chil.me.