EUROPEAN COMMISSION:Maritime Affairs and Fisheries,Newsletter

 

03 May 2024   Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Newsletter

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In this issue Foreword   News   OCEAN by Euronews   Stories of the month   Map of the month   Podcast: Ocean Calls   Events   Consultations   Funding opportunities

Foreword

Dear readers,   It’s a wrap on Taste The Ocean - our EU-powered campaign encouraging everyone to buy, cook and enjoy sustainable fish and seafood. I send a warm thank you to all of you who have followed it or participated in the contest!   Another race coming close to an end: the European Parliament voted in favor of the ratification on behalf of the EU of the High Seas Treaty. This historic global treaty will contribute to protecting biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction. Next step: end of May, for a vote by the European Council.   Looking ahead, mark your calendars: 14-15 May will be the EU Arctic Forum & Indigenous People Dialogue, featuring for the first time this year the EU-Arctic Youth Dialogues. In person registration is over, but you will be able to follow it from the comfort of your own office with a live webstream .   And finally, a very happy European Diversity Month! Diversity and inclusion are immense sources of opportunities and innovation. They must be encouraged and supported, may it be in maritime affairs, in fisheries, or in the blue economy.  Warm regards, Kestutis SADAUSKAS, Deputy Director-General  Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries

News

EU announces €3.5 billion worth of commitments to protect the ocean and promote sustainability at Our Ocean Conference in Greece Today, at the Our Ocean Conference in Greece, the European Union is confirming its strong engagement for international ocean governance by announcing 40 commitments for action for 2024. These actions will be funded by €3.5 billion from various EU funds.   more     EU calls for global ban on certain plastic products to combat pollution World leaders and negotiators meet in Ottawa from 21-29 April for the fourth round of negotiations to prepare a new UN Treaty on global plastic pollution.   more     A new fishing zone opens to the European Union vessels in North Pacific The EU was granted fishing opportunities for chub mackerel at the North Pacific Fisheries Commission (NPFC) annual session, held from 15 to 18 April 2024 in Osaka, Japan. Chub mackerel is an important commercial species and EU fishing fleet will be allowed to participate in this NPFC fishery.   more     Commission adopts limited prolongation of State aid crisis tools to further support agriculture and fisheries sectors Today, the European Commission has adopted an amendment to the State aid Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (TCTF) to prolong by six months certain provisions of the Framework aimed to address persisting market disturbances specifically in the agriculture and fisheries sectors.   more     EU requests consultations under Trade and Cooperation Agreement over UK's permanent closure of the sandeel fishery Today, the European Union requested consultations with the United Kingdom under the dispute settlement mechanism of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) regarding the United Kingdom's decision to prohibit the fishing of sandeel, with the aim of reaching a mutually agreeable solution.   more     Aquaculture: Commission shares recommendations and good practices The Commission has published two staff working documents to support EU Member States in facilitating the sustainable growth of aquaculture.   more     Fighting illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing: new report on 2020-2023 achievements The European Commission has just published the 2020-2023 report on its activities to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU fishing), in accordance with the IUU Regulation.   more     Launch of the e-FishMed Exchange Programme to support the fight against IUU fishing in the Mediterranean Today, the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA), in the context of the European Union funded e-FishMed project, launched an exchange programme to enhance cooperation and to promote sharing of expertise and best practices in the fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing.   more

OCEAN by Euronews

Euronews OCEAN Season 6, Episode 4 – Understanding hake’s incredible recovery in the Atlantic   Northern hake faced a critical period of overfishing in the '90s, pushing it near the brink of collapse, with the overall biomass dangerously low for about a decade. However, the European Union's intervention in 2004, with a recovery plan that set science-based fishing limits and gear restrictions,   more

Stories of the month

‘Exploring together the treasures of the sea’: the campaign for sustainable fisheries awareness in Malta Much attention is given to the negative environmental impacts of fishing, but how much is known about the many benefits of the sector?   more     Presidential visit for world’s first wind-powered hybrid industrial ship, funded under EMFF French President Emmanuel Macron has visited Canopée, the world’s first” wind-powered hybrid industrial cargo ship. French company Ayro developed Oceanwings® 363, wingsails that reduce the fuel consumption of ships by 30%.   more     BiOceanOr: Revolutionising aquaculture with AI and BlueInvest Leveraging expertise in artificial intelligence (AI) and marine biology, BiOceanOr, a French start-up, is using AI technologies to help manage water quality and promote sustainable practices. They have developed AquaREAL, a unique service predicting water quality.   more     How to fingerprint a fish All along the supply chain, vendors often pass off cheaper fish species as their more valuable counterparts. When one fish fillet looks much like another, misidentification and even deliberate fraud are easy.   more

Map of the month

Fisheries – Catches by country Discover the total annual catches of fishery products by country. The data provided by Eurostat shows the weight of the catches as they are taken from the water, excluding any products that are not landed. Explore how annual catches have changed over the years (2000-2019) by clicking on a country.   more

Podcast: Ocean Calls

Ocean Calls Podcast – Season 3 Ep. 3: Why should Europeans start eating seaweed? In this episode of Ocean Calls, we're diving into the world of seaweed — that green, slimy stuff you often find on the beach. It turns out, that seaweed isn't just beach debris; it's also a superfood that offers solutions to various environmental issues, from capturing carbon to reducing overfishing   more     Ocean Calls Podcast – Season 3 Ep. 2: Can AI unlock the secrets of the deep sea and help us make better decisions? Imagine if policymakers, businesses, and society had access to a virtual twin copy of our oceans to explore? This AI tool could be used to simulate realistic what-if scenarios based on scientific knowledge.   more     Ocean Calls Podcast – Season 3 Ep. 1: Unexploded Bombs in the Black Sea and the Baltic The Ocean Calls Podcast is back! This third season, we’ll talk about the environmental catastrophe in the Black Sea, help you trace where your seafood comes from, and explore how AI can offer insights into everything from the pathways of plastic pollution to the lives of teenage turtles.   more

Events

EU Arctic Forum and Indigenous Peoples’ Dialogue date 14/05/2024 - 15/05/2024 venue Brussels, Belgium   more   Macro-regional & Sea Basin Strategies Days 2024 date 12/06/2024 - 13/06/2024 venue THE EGG, Brussels Registration Register now!   more   European Maritime Day date 30/05/2024 - 31/05/2024 venue SIMAC Academy- Svendborg International Maritime Academy, Denmark Registration Register before 15 May 2024!   more

Consultations

Better protecting sharks through sustainable fishing and trade Deadline 04/06/2024   more

Funding opportunities

Single Framework Contract for the provision of technical, legal, scientific and logistical support for the ratification and early implementation of the High Seas Treaty (BBNJ Agreement) Deadline 17/05/2024   more   EU4ALGAE - 'stakeholder platform and new algae farmers toolkit' Deadline 05/06/2024   more

This newsletter is published by the European Commission's Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. Visit our websites: Oceans and Fisheries Commissioner Sinkevičius