Brussels, 02/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - After five years in force, the regulation on tackling illegal fishing has had a clear impact on fishing activities worldwide, according to a report adopted by the European Commission on 1 October (see EUROPE 11401).
The regulation, known as the IUU regulation, put in place a permanent cooperation mechanism between the EU and third countries and encouraged member states and third countries alike to comply more fully with their international obligations as flag states, coastal states, port states or market states.
The Commission has adopted a communication on application of Regulation 1005/2008, establishing a Community system to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. This report shows that, hitherto, the Commission has initiated dialogue with almost 50 third countries on illegal fishing. Through missions and meetings, the dialogue process has resulted in legislative and administrative reforms in more than 15 countries.
Since 2010, the Commission has investigated more than 200 cases of vessels from 27 countries being involved in IUU fishing. The direct consequence of these investigations has been the imposition of sanctions totalling in excess of €8 million in fines and levies against more than 50 vessels by eight flag states (Belize, Brazil, Comoros, Lithuania, Panama, the Republic of Guinea, the Republic of Korea and Spain) and four coastal states (Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, the Republic of Guinea and Sierra Leone).
The Commission will continue to work to strengthen the systems in place and to simplify and update application of the IUU regulation. Some technical improvements may still be brought and, for this, it will be possible to use the current legal basis. The aim is to improve the cost effectiveness of the current system, by moving from being paper-based to being electronic, the Commission says. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)