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August, 2005

Common Fisheries Policy

1. Commission declares operational a new Regional Advisory Council for Pelagic stocks
2. EU increases allowable North Sea herring catches to match alleged over-exploitation by Norway
3. Quotas for herring, mackerel, horse mackerel and sole amended;
4. The Commission published a blacklist of vessels identified as engaged in IUU fishing
5. Stop fishing notices issued for French and Spanish vessels targeting many species.
6. EU sets out basic requirements for issue of fishing licences by Member States
7. Additional subsidies announced for yellowfin and skipjack tuna catches in 2004
8. The European Commission has established the permanent Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF).

Fish hygiene

9 . Forty four rapid alerts announced for unsafe fishery products
10 . Derogations lifted on establishments in the fish, meat and milk sectors in Poland
11. DG SANCO reports on the Competent Authority in Estonia
12. Commission proposes new approach to health controls for farmed fish and molluscs


Common Fisheries Policy

1. The Commission issued a decision declaring operational the EU-wide Regional Advisory Council for Pelagic stocks under the Common Fisheries Policy.

2. The Commission passed a regulation increasing the EU fishing opportunities for North Sea herring in EU and international waters by 14 % to 89,537 tonnes in 2005, to bring EU fishing in line with Norway's alleged excessive exploitation of the same stocks. The Commission believes that this will "not cause any irreversible negative effect on the conservation".

3. The Commission announced changes in 2005 quota allocations and inspection procedures for herring in the Baltic and herring, mackerel, horse mackerel and sole species in the North Sea;

4. The Commission announced a blacklist of flag of convenience vessels identified by NEAFC as engaged in IUU fishing, and prohibited any EU dealings with them

5. Stop fishing notices were issued for French vessels targeting anglerfish, common sole, blue whiting, mackerel, Norway lobster and forkbeards, Spanish vessels targeting tusk forkbeards, blue ling and cod, Belgian vessels for anglerfish and common sole, German vessels for ling and Portuguese vessels targeting anglerfish.

6. The Commission published a new regulation setting out the information to be contained in fishing licences, and requiring licenced capacity of Member States to be in line with capacity limits under the CFP

7. The Commission passed a regulation providing for compensation to producer organisations for up to 31,000 tonnes of yellow fin and skipjack tuna delivered to the processing industry between 1 January and 31 March 2004 due to lower than expected market prices.

8. The European Commission has established the permanent Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF), consisting of 30-35 members to provide expert advice to the Commission. The members will be scientific experts in the fields of marine biology, marine ecology, fisheries science, nature conservation, population dynamics, statistics, fishing gear technology, aquaculture, and the economics of fisheries and aquaculture.


Fish hygiene

9 . Forty Four rapid alerts for unsafe fishery products were announced in August 2005, including carbon monoxide treated tuna from Spain, Vietnam, Netherlands and Papua New Guinea and unacceptable cadmium levels in Canadian lobster.

10 . The Commission removed the derogations granted on EU accession to some food (including fish) processing establishments in Poland. These establishments will now have to comply with all aspects of the EU food hygiene laws.

11. DG SANCO of the Commission reported on a mission carried out in Estonia from 18 to 22 October 2004, for the purpose of assessing the official controls for products of animal origin. Processing establishments were deficient in design, layout, structure, equipment and maintenance. HACCP plans were properly documented, but not always implemented correctly.

12. The Commission has proposed new rules on the health controls of farmed fish. Primary legislation (Council Directives 91/67/EEC, 93/53/EEC and 95/70/EC) will be replaced with one new Directive, with a greater emphasis on disease prevention. Some disease eradication measures will also be eligible in future for support from the European Fisheries Fund.