Report | October 16, 2015

EU External Fisheries: How To Make them Transparent, Accountable And Sustainable

In 2015 the rules governing both the authorisations provided to the European Union’s large fishing fleet operating outside EU waters, and the authorisations of non-EU countries’ vessels such as Norway, Iceland and Faroe Islands to fish in EU waters, will be rewritten.

The coalition of organisations working to tackle IUU fishing considers that the reform of the Fishing Authorisation Regulation (or FAR) must ensure that the activities of the EU fleet and nationals operating outside EU waters are transparent, accountable and sustainable. This also applies to third country vessels operating in EU waters. Furthermore, we recommend that its new requirements must also be developed in line with the EU’s strong commitment to eradicate illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Such fishing deprives coastal communities of income, livelihood and food security, leads to unfair competition for legitimate fishers, and undermines efforts to safeguard global fish stocks.