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
2023
BFT bycatches
For longliners, the Administration has decided to set the by-catch level for 2023 at five specimens of E-BFT which 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 the artisanal and small scale vessels from Azores and Madeira the by-catch limit will be set at 20%, in weight, of the total catches made during the year.
For others vessels the by-catch limit is of one specimen of the total catch retained on board or landed at the end of the fishing trip, considering compliance with the catch percentages legally established for the gear or mesh size ranges.
Ban on Catching Atlantic Shortfin Mako Shark (Isurus oxyrinchus)
- NORTH Stock
At the 2021 ICCAT annual meeting, a recovery programme for the North Atlantic shortfin mako shark was agreed due to the overfishing of this stock. Therefore, all fishing fleets, operating in the North Atlantic, are prohibited to retaining on board, transhipping and landing, all or part, of Shortfin Mako Skark, even if caught together with other ICCAT species, in 2022 and 2023.
- SOUTH Stock
At the ICCAT 2022 annual meeting, a fisheries management plan for the South Atlantic shortfin mako shark was implemented, to try to counteract overfishing of this stock. For this reason, all fishing fleets, operating in the 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, in 2023 and 2024.