EU Fisheries Control Agency adopts first work programme for 2007

The Agency’s role is to strengthen inspection and control of fisheries measures and to make enforcement more uniform throughout the European Union. To do this, it will organise operational coordination of Member States’ inspection and monitoring activities from the fishing vessel to the first sale of fish landed in or imported to the EU.

In 2007, the Agency will give priority to the implementation of the recovery and management of cod stocks, protection of bluefin tuna, the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and reduction of destructive fishing practices and discards. The Administrative Board also adopted the €5 million budget of the Agency for 2007.

The first joint deployment plan to be set up in 2007 relates to the recovery of cod stocks in the North Sea, Skagerrak and Eastern Channel. The Member States that will be involved in this plan are Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The joint deployment plans for cod in the Baltic and bluefin tuna will follow later.