The European Commission has adopted an Action Plan with Lithuania to further improve the control of Baltic fisheries, following plans for Sweden in March and Finland in May.
An audit of the Lithuanian fisheries control system uncovered inefficiencies in the collection, validation and cross-checking of catch data that might render the calculation of quota uptake unreliable, and that is what this The Action Plan is based on. Other shortcomings concern gaps in national legislation, inadequate human resources and double reporting.
The Action Plan has been designed jointly with the national authorities and will help ensure that Lithuania equips itself with the proper administrative set up, IT systems and human resources.
The Commission says that by bolstering fisheries control, the Plan will benefit sustainability and the fishermen themselves, becasue respecting quotas and following the principles of the Common Fisheries Policy creates a level playing field and lets fish stocks recover.
It also says that Action Plans are a cooperative way to enforce the Common Fisheries Policy and are considered quite effective, having shown to obtain good results in record time.
