New rules for managing the EU external fishing fleet [EU Legislation in Progress]

Written by Irina Popescu (5th edition),

The European Parliament and the Council have adopted a new Regulation on the sustainable management of external fishing fleets, which replaces the ‘Fishing Authorisations Regulation’ 1006/2008, and covers all EU vessels fishing outside EU waters, as well as third-country vessels fishing in EU waters.

The regulation revised the system of issuing and managing fishing authorisations, so as to improve monitoring and transparency of the EU external fishing fleet. It extended the scope of the authorisation system to include practices such as private agreements between EU companies and third countries, and abusive reflagging operations. Member States are required to authorise fishing vessels using common eligibility criteria, complemented by specific conditions depending on the nature of the authorisation. Part of the electronic fishing authorisations register, showing who fishes for what and where, will for the first time be publicly accessible.

Versions

• February 2018: New rules for managing the EU external fishing fleet (5th edition)
• July 2017: New rules for managing the EU external fishing fleet (4th edition)
• January 2017: New rules for managing the EU external fishing fleet (3rd edition)
• October 2016: New rules for managing the EU external fishing fleet (2nd edition)
• April 2016: New rules for managing the EU external fishing fleet (1st edition)