A report on iUU fishing of Baltic Sea cod - Fisheries Secretariat

adopted in the North Sea, the Baltic Sea and forthe eastern stock of blue fin tuna.What constitutes a JDP is elaborated upon in theAgency’s work programme. In summary, it willbuild on the existing operational cooperation betweenthe Member States in the region concernedand it will be tailored to the characteristics ofthe region. The Agency will first make a studycovering information on fishing and control andinspection activities, non-compliance records andlevels, and reasons for such behaviour.Moreover, it will examine ways to promote aculture of compliance on the level of the regiontogether with the relevant RAC. Subsequently,the Agency will analyse on the basis of the meansof control and inspection pooled by the MemberStates concerned how the objectives, prioritiesand bench marks set out in the specific controland inspection plan can be achieved.Within its competence and for this purpose, theAgency may assist in or hold meetings, symposia,conferences, working groups with the MemberStates concerned and the stakeholders throughthe relevant RAC and invite third persons toattend or to make presentations or other writtendocuments so as to contribute to the objectivespursued by the Agency.Within Community waters, priority is given tofishing activities affecting stocks with recoveryplans and within which non-<strong>report</strong>ing of landingsis considered a significant problem.In international waters, the Agency may takeon tasks that are already assigned to the Commissionwithin the North East Atlantic FisheriesCommission (NEAFC) and the North AtlanticFisheries Organisation (NAFO). It may also undertakework with Norway on discarding in themackerel fishery.According to the work programme, the Agencywill have to concentrate its operational activitiesin 2007 and 2008 on a limited number offisheries since it will take some time to be fullyequipped and staffed (estimates of 49 staff havebeen made by the Commission – based on similarCommunity inspection agencies).The Agency will use its experience from 2007 toagree future needs with Member States and theCommission. By 2010 the Agency is anticipatedto become the independent and objective contactpoint in the Community for matters relating tocontrol and inspectionThe estimated budget of the Agency is in theregion of €5 million, which it envisages wouldbe met mainly by a contribution from the Communitybut also through other sources of incomeincluding charges to Member States for specificservices provided to them on a contractual basis(e.g. training), as well as fees for publications.CommentDiscussions with the Commission confirm thatit and some Member State administrations havesome uncertainty as to the benefits the agencywill provide. Some are of the opinion that theAgency was a result of politics as opposed topractical solutions. The basing of it in Vigo, thefishing heartland of a Member State with a notoriousreputation for non-compliance, only servedto confirm these opinions. Some of the southernMember States appear to be more positive asthey see that there is the potential for a CommunityAgency to improve their IUU problems andremove potentially difficult political situationsthat might be created if their own administrationswere more effective. Whereas in the northernMember States they are keen to show thattheir agencies and systems are able to deal withthe problem; in the UK, for example, anythingthat undermines or shows a failing in the RoyalNavy to undertake enforcement will be seen tobe very negative.The challenge appears to be whether the Agencywill add value to the existing system. ManyMember State administrations are under regularscrutiny as to the cost of enforcement and thisis becoming more of an issue. The success, orotherwise, of the Agency is likely to be highlydependent on the ability of the Chief Executiveto establish the organisation and win over theopinion that the Agency is more than a politicalsop to tackling IUU fishing.Figure 2 has been adapted from the CommissionCommunications and staff working papersto show how the Commission envisages that theAgency will fit into helping coordinate and engagewith Member States on specific monitoring,control and surveillance operations.– 34 –