Framework
European Union vessels operate outside European Union waters, and in third country waters, through the network of Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements (SFPA) concluded by the European Union with Third Countries, mainly on the African continent, or, in the absence of such Agreements, through an access regime designated as Private Fishing License, also known as «Direct Fishing Authorizations».
The Portuguese fishing fleet is also present in the waters of Spain where operates under a bilateral reciprocity Agreement.
On the other hand, the activity of the Union fleet in international waters takes place also in waters under the purview of Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMO). These international organizations are responsible for adopting conservation, management and control measures aiming a sustainable harvesting of marine resources, such as the North-western Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO), the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT), the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC), or the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), just to mention a few of the more relevant RFMO.
The EU activity in external fishing grounds is framed by the Regulation (EU) 2017/2403 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2017, on the sustainable management of external fishing fleets.
News/Highlights
2024
BFT bycatches
For longliners, the by-catch level is a maximum of five E-BFT specimens of the total ICCAT species kept on board per fishing trip. This amount shall not exceed 10% of the total catch retained on board or landed at the end of the fishing trip, excluding the largest specimen of E-BFT,
For other vessels, with the exception of those licensed for gillnets, the by-catch limit is one specimen per fishing trip.
Ban on Catching Atlantic Shortfin Mako Shark (Isurus oxyrinchus) - NORTH and SOUTH Stocks
All fishing fleets operating in the North and South Atlantic, are prohibited to retaining on board, transhipping and landing, all or part, of Shortfin Mako Shark, even if caught together with other ICCAT species.