Report | November 18, 2019

Joint NGO priorities on the revision of the EU Fisheries Control System

We call on decision-makers to support the Commission’s proposal to:

· Introduce Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) requirements to enable fully documented fisheries (Article 1(23) of the proposal);

· Allow for a better implementation of the enforcement provisions of the Control Regulation (Article 1 (69), Annexes III and IV);

· Mandate the use of tracking devices and electronic reporting of catches and fishing operations for small-scale fishing vessels (Articles 1 (6), 1 (11) and 1 (12));

· Improve the control of recreational fisheries by introducing licencing and reporting systems (Article 1 (44));

 · Strengthen current traceability provisions to ensure the effective tracking of fishery products via electronic traceability systems, covering both lots of EU and imported seafood along the supply chain (Articles 1 (11), 1 (46), 1 (54) and 1 (56));

· Require full documentation of all catches and discards (Article 1 (11));

 · Improve the control of fishing capacity, notably by mandating the continuous monitoring of engine power for certain categories of vessels (Articles 1 (33) to 1 (37));

 · Enlarge the scope of the current provisions on the control of fishing restricted areas to cover all vessels and areas in the high seas and in third countries’ waters (Article 1 (43));

· Replace the paper-based catch certificate scheme with an electronic scheme under the European Union’s Regulation to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (EU IUU Regulation) (Article 4 (6)).