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December 2005

Common Fisheries Policy

1. The European Commission plans streamlining and improving fisheries legislation by 2008.
2. The EU, Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands agreed on TAC for blue whiting in the North Sea.
3. EU and Norway also agreed on the TACs for seven joint fish stocks in the North Sea
4. Emergency conservation measures on Greenland Halibut in NAFO area
5. Recovery plan passed for hake and Nephrops in Cantabrian Sea and Western Iberian peninsula
6. Stronger conservation rules introduced for Baltic Sea fishing
7. New fisheries partnership agreement with Cape Verde signed
8. New 6-year fisheries partnership agreement with Gabon initialed
9. Fishing opportunities around the Seychelles under the 6-year fisheries partnership agreement allocated to Spain, France, Italy and Portugal.
10. EU Council passed 2006 market stabilisation measures for fishery products.
11. Stop fishing notice were published for some species
12. New 2006 licence fees set for EU fishing in Greenland waters

Fish hygiene

13. Forty two rapid alerts for fishery products entering Community trade in December 2005.
14. FVO report on health conditions for the export of fishery products from Malaysia; some minor defects
15. FVO follow report on health conditions for the export of fishery products from Morocco; action required on bivalves
16. FVO published Annual Report for 2004; 232 inspection missions in 54 countries, 12 for fish
17. FVO plans thirty five fishery product inspection missions in third countries in 2006
18. Commission re-considers limits on dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs in fishery products
19. Commission reminds the industry that new food and feed hygiene regulations come into force in 2006

Common Fisheries Policy

1. The European Commission adopted an Action Plan for streamlining and improving fisheries legislation over the period 2006-2008. This will include a consolidation and restructuring of a number of conservation rules. The Commission published a series of frequently asked questions regarding fisheries conservation measures applied by the European Union.

2. The European Union, Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands concluded an agreement on the total allowable catch (TAC) for blue whiting in the North Sea (2 million tonnes for 2006). The EU share amounts to 30.5%. The Parties agreed to reduce the TAC by at least 100,000 tonnes/year until the stock shows signs of recovery.

3. European Commission and the Government of Norway also agreed on the levels of fishing possibilities for the seven joint fish stocks in the North Sea; includes cod, herring, whiting, haddock, mackerel, saithe and plaice.

4. The EU Council implemented a NAFO Decision to introduce emergency conservation measures on Greenland Halibut, with a reduced TAC, closed areas, and stricter reporting requirements, including a designated ports scheme.

5. A new EU regulation established a multi-annual recovery plan for stocks of hake and Nephrops in the Cantabrian Sea (Southern Biscay) and Western Iberian peninsula regions; sets new spawning biomass targets, closed seasons and gear restrictions and procedures for setting TACs, stricter requirements on Member States for monitoring of catches.

6. A new Regulation was passed to strengthen conservation rules applied to fishing in the Baltic Sea, defining target species and required catch percentages applicable for different mesh size ranges and geographical areas when fishing with certain gears. Special measures are to be applied within the Gulf of Riga.

7. The Commission announced the signing of a new 5-year fisheries partnership agreement with Cape Verde, effective from 1 September 2006 to 31 August 2011. It will provide fishing possibilities for 25 tuna seiners, 11 pole-and-line vessels and 48 surface long-liners. The EU financial contribution will amount to €385,000 per year.

8. The Commission announced the initialing of a new 6-year fisheries partnership agreement with Gabon, effective from 3 December 2005. It will provide fishing possibilities for 40 tuna vessels. Shrimp and cephalopod fishing opportunities have not been maintained. The EU financial contribution will amount to a reduced level of €860,000 per year.

9. The Council decided on the allocation of fishing opportunities under the 6-year fisheries partnership agreement with Seychelles, effective from 18 January 2005 to 17 January 2011. It allocated fishing possibilities for 40 tuna seiners and 12 surface long line vessels, to Spain, France, Italy and Portugal.
10. The EU Council passed regulations setting 2006 guide prices, withdrawal prices, selling prices, conversion factors, reference prices, storage, and carry-over subsidies which form the basis for the Community market stabilisation measures for fishery products.

11. Due to exhaustion of quota, stop fishing notices were published for redfish, alfonsinos and black scabbardfish. Northern Prawn, sprat, hake and Greenland halibut fisheries were re-opened for certain vessels.

12. The EU Council set new 2006 licence fees for EU vessels fishing under the Greenland/EU Fisheries Partnership Agreement.


Fish hygiene

13. DG SANCO reported 42 rapid alerts for fishery products entering Community trade. These included consignments of smoked salmon from Cyprus, Denmark and Poland, prawns from Ireland and France, smoked sprats from Lithuania and Latvia, sushi from Denmark and scallops from Belgium.

14. The Food and Veterinary Office report on health conditions for the export of fishery products from Malaysia to the EU, finding deficiencies in hygiene inspection of establishments, and in residue monitoring programmes. The Commission was recommended to seek guarantees that these will be rectified. The mission also covered animal health conditions for the export of live ornamental carp to the EU.

15. The Food and Veterinary Office mission reported on a follow up visit to Morocco in July 2005, finding significant improvements in the inspection fishery products. Although some improvements were noted in the demarcation, classification and monitoring of production areas for bivalve molluscs, the report concludes that there were still considerable deficiencies in the laboratory analysis of monitoring samples, and that the Competent Authority should submit an action plan with a view to correcting the observed defects.

16. The Food and Veterinary Office of DG Health and Consumer Protection of the European Commission published its Annual Report for 2004. The Office carried out 232 inspection missions in 54 countries in 2004, of which 61% were related to food safety. 12 inspection missions covered fishery products in third countries. The situation in the majority of the countries visited ranged from unsatisfactory to very serious with risks for consumer health. Actions taken as a result of the fishery products inspections included the suspension, by the competent authority, of certain exports, requests for strengthened controls and the suspension of the certain vessels and establishments, pending satisfactory guarantees from the competent authority

17. The FVO published the plan of inspection missions for 2006. Fishery product inspection missions will be undertaken in Turkey, and the FVO will review the List 1 countries including Ivory Coast, Russia, Colombia, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Guinea Conakry, Iran, Honduras, Greenland, Maldives, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Cuba, Gambia, Kenya, Peru, Oman, Suriname, Tunisia, Tanzania, Taiwan, Uganda, Venezuela, Canada, Philippines, Madagascar, Albania, with follow up missions in Mauritania, Yemen, India, Seychelles. North Korea will also receive an inspection mission for its first listing. Live fish and bivalve molluscs inspections will take place in USA and Canada. A desk study on dioxin residues in fish oils is to be undertaken in the UK

18. The Standing Committee on The Food Chain and Animal Health discussed the issue of dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs in fishery products, indicating that more work should be undertaken to investigate the possibilities of removing dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs from fish meal and fish protein-hydrolysates. Some member states indicated that they were dissatisfied with progress in reducing human exposure to dioxins by the target of at least 25% by the year 2006. The approach which allows higher MRLs in some species compared to other fish species was criticised by Denmark and Germany (specifically in relation to eel).

19. The Commission issued a press release announcing the coming into force from 1 January 2006 of the 2004 food and feed hygiene regulations and published some frequently asked questions on the food and feed hygiene regulations.