Brussels, 28/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission gave a warm welcome on 25 September to the decisions taken by the North Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO) to protect fragile marine ecosystems.
At their meeting in Halifax (Canada) from 21 to 25 September, the contracting parties to this regional fisheries organisation adopted total allowable catches for a number of species, taking due account of scientific advice.
NAFO also decided to continue working towards improvement of the database for stock assessments and the implementation of an ecosystem approach to fisheries management. In terms of control and compliance, NAFO adopted measures based on EU proposals that will favour transparency in fishing activities.
Significant progress was also made with regard to information exchange between Canadian authorities and the NAFO Secretariat to ensure smooth co-existence between hydrocarbon and fishing activities, notably in view of the increasing oil and gas exploratory activities in the NAFO Regulatory Area.
Despite support from many contracting parties, however, there was no progress in the attempt to align NAFO port inspection rules with the FAO port state measures agreement, a key instrument in combatting illegal fishing.
No progress on finning. The EU also presented a proposal to update the existing shark management rules in line with the EU ban on shark finning (the practice of removing the fins before throwing the shark back into the sea). Though few sharks are caught in the NAFO area, the EU continuously supports initiatives across regional fisheries management organisations to end this practice worldwide. The proposal was supported by many delegations, including the US but NAFO did not manage to adopt the fins-naturally-attached policy this year.
The 38th NAFO annual meeting will be held in Varadero, Cuba, from 19 -23 September 2016. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)