FishFiles Lite
Common Fisheries Policy and Fish Hygiene
by MEGAPESCA LDA
TECHNICAL INFORMATION IN FOOD &
FISHERIES POLICY & DEVELOPMENT
June 2004
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Common Fisheries Policy
1. 2004 catch quotas updated to account for
2. EU withdraws Community funding for NAFO
fisheries observers onboard; Members States must organize and vessel operators
will pay.
3. EU Council approves new approach to
technical measures, including stronger incentives.
4. The EU Council agreed the maximum annual
fishing effort for fisheries in “Western waters”.
5. Community Fisheries Control Agency moves
a step closer to reality.
6.
7. EU cannot get agreement on blue whiting
with
8.
9. New rules published relaxing state aid
to the fisheries sector.
10. New Fisheries Commissioner speaks at
Fisheries Ministers Conference.
11. Commission organizes stakeholders
conference on fishery sector structural funds.
Fish Hygiene
12. Forty six rapid alerts for fishery
products reported in June.
13. DG SANCO to inspect fish hygiene
conditions in 12 more third countries in 2004.
14. Regulation published on official
controls for food and animal feed.
15. DG SANCO reports on an inspection
mission to
16. New derogations granted for
non-compliant fish processing establishments in new member states.
17. Revised list and animal health
conditions for third country supplies of aquaculture products to the EU market.
18. Updated requirements and criteria
published for aquaculture disease free regions.
19. Commission close to limiting benzpyrene
content of smoked foods.
20. Member States approve increase MRL for
cadmium in swordfish.
21. Stronger controls to be introduced on
“clear smoked” tuna.
22. €192 million allocated for research
into food quality and safety.
Common Fisheries Policy
1. The EU has amended Regulations setting
the allocation of catch quotas for 2004, to account for the EU enlargement
including
2. The EU has withdrawn Community funding
for fisheries observers onboard EU vessels fishing in the NAFO region. In
future this will be the direct responsibility of the government of the flag
Member States themselves, with costs charged to vessel operators, effective
from
3. The EU Council approved new incentives
for environmentally-friendly fishing methods, simplified technical rules for
the Atlantic and the North Sea, more research on habitats and non-target
species and pilot projects to reduce discards and “ghost fishing”.
4. The EU Council agreed the maximum annual
fishing effort for fisheries in “Western waters”.
5. The Council continued discussions on the
Community Fisheries Control Agency, now waiting for technical discussions and
results of an operational study.
6.
7. The EU has increasing the Community
quotas for blue whiting in 2004 to a total 350,000 tonnes in the absence of any
overall agreement with Norway, Iceland and Faeroe Is.
8. The EU has removed duty free tariffs
granted to fishery products from the Spanish enclaves of
9. The Commission issued a press release on
the new rules governing state aid to the fisheries sector, allowing exemption
from EU approval requirements for certain types of assistance of up to
€1million/year.
10. Mrs.Sandra Kalniete, the Fisheries
Commissioner, gave a speech at the 9th.North Atlantic Fisheries Ministers
Conference 03 -
11. A two-day conference was organised by
the European Commission on
Fish Hygiene
12. Forty six rapid alerts for fishery
products were reported by Member States, including consignments from Malaysia
(octopus and cuttlefish), Indonesia (prawns, tuna and swordfish), Oman (red sea
bream, grouper), UAE (fresh fish), Senegal (fish fillets), and Tunisia
(snappers, cuttlefish, brown shrimp).
13. The Food and Veterinary Office of DG
SANCO published its programme of inspection visits for the second half of 2004.
The FVO will inspect fishery hygiene conditions in
14. The EU published the final official
version of Regulation 882/2004 on official controls for food and animal feed.
It defines the obligations of Member States in organizing official controls to
ensure that food and feed complies with safety regulations protecting human and
animal health.
15. DG SANCO Food and Veterinary Office
reported on an inspection mission to
16. The Commission has granted additional
derogations to non-compliant fish processing establishments in some new member
states -
17. The Commission has set out a revised
list of third countries permitted to supply aquaculture products to the EU
market, and the animal health conditions with which they should comply,
including inspection and certification.
18. The Commission updated the requirements
for defining aquaculture disease free status, revised the list of regions
within the EU considered to be free of certain diseases, and set out control
and eradication criteria.
19. The Standing Committee on the Food
Chain and Animal Health considered and approved proposals for limiting
benzpyrene content of smoked foods, along with an official control mechanism.
20. The Commission moved a step closer to
approve an increase in maximum residue levels for cadmium in swordfish.
21. The Commission continues to consider
the issue of “clear smoking” of tuna with carbon monoxide. Member States are to
be asked to strengthen enforcement at border inspection posts to prevent entry
of illegally treated products.
22. At a conference in Dublin on “Thinking
beyond tomorrow: a safe and nutritious food chain for the consumer”, the
European Commission announced it would award €192 million for food quality and
safety research in the second year of the EU’s Sixth Framework Programme for
Research (FP6, 2002-2006).
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