LAUNCH OF SUPPORT IN FIGHT AGAINST IUU FISHING IN THE MEDITERRANEAN

Launch of support in fight against IUU fishing in the Mediterranean. The European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA), in the context of the European Union funded e-FishMed project, has 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.

The exchange programme is targeted to fisheries inspectors and Fisheries Monitoring Centres (FMC) operators of the five e-FishMed Beneficiary Countries: Algeria, Libya, Morocco Mauritania and Tunisia. The programme is technically supported by the e-FishMed Project Partners: France, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain.

The first edition of the exchange programme is organised in cooperation with the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food that will kindly host participants from Beneficiary Countries, sharing with them working experience and methods from 15 to 19 April 2024.

The participants will start the programme in Madrid where they will visit the Spanish Fisheries Monitoring Centre and they will participate to several sessions that will facilitate sharing of knowledge and best practices and will reinforce contacts, networks and cooperation. The exchange will continue in Malaga where the participants will take part as observers to fishery inspection activities.

The implementation of the Exchange Programme is one of the expected results of the EU-funded e-FishMed project, supported and implemented by EFCA. The e-FishMed project contributes to harmonising fisheries control and inspection activities and promotes cooperation against Illegal, Unreported, Unregulated (IUU) fishing and the effective implementation of control of conservation and management measures in the Mediterranean. The project will also contribute to creating the conditions for a sustainable Blue Economy in that area.

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