The Council of the EU supported, on Tuesday 14 February, the European Commission’s request to join, on behalf of the EU, the Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IUU) Action Alliance Pledge.
The alliance is a political declaration - and therefore a non-binding instrument - initially agreed between three third countries (UK, US and Canada) supporting the international fight against IUU fishing.
The US and the UK have asked the EU to support this commitment. The ‘Our Ocean’ conference, to be held in Panama in March 2023, will be an opportunity for the EU to do so.
The commitment aims to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing by:
- supporting the effective regulation and sustainable management of fisheries;
- urging all flag states to effectively monitor and regulate their fishing vessels;
- encouraging international fisheries organisations, multilateral bodies and states to expand existing efforts to address IUU fishing.
It was at the UN Oceans Conference in Lisbon in 2022 that a range of states and non-state actors committed to fighting IUU fishing by supporting the commitment of this IUU Action Alliance, as explained by the UK (https://aeur.eu/f/5ba ).
Link to the EU Council document on the EU’s accession to this non-binding instrument: https://aeur.eu/f/5bc (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)