Brussels, 07/03/2016 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission announced on Monday 7 March that it had approved the action plan submitted by the Netherlands to toughen national fisheries controls.
The plan contains measures agreed between the European Commission and the Dutch authorities, following the Commission's audits of the Dutch fisheries control system.
The Netherlands pledges to improve its data management system so as to ensure that catch data are comprehensively validated and cross-checked. The result of this will be that the data used to monitor the catches by Dutch fishermen will become more reliable. “Improvements are also needed in providing information on the official website and in recording and reporting catches in pelagic fisheries”, the Commission states in a press release.
Dutch fishermen will be the first to benefit from these efforts to stamp out illegal and unrecorded fishing, the Commission says. “Better enforcement of catch monitoring results in more abundant fish stocks and rewards honest fishermen who play by the rules”, it argues.
In 2015, the Commission adopted similar plans for Sweden, Finland and Lithuania. The purpose of these cooperative instruments is to ensure that the EU's fisheries control policy is implemented correctly. With their strong focus on cooperation between the European Commission and the member state, they can be highly effective in achieving maximum results in a short amount of time, the Commission says. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)