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

Department of Fisheries and Game (kala- ja riistaosasto)undertakes the practical tasks of controlthrough Regional Fisheries Units. There are sixRegional Units on the mainland and the autonomousprovince of Åland Islands has its ownfisheries monitoring and control administrations.The Finnish Coast Guard (merivatiosto) undertakesmultiple tasks, including surveillanceof fishing activity at sea, and come under theresponsibility of the Ministry of the Interior(sisäasiainministriö).The Customs Authority (Tullihallitus) is responsiblefor controls and import of fish and fisheryproducts into Finland and operates as part of theMinistry of Finance (valtiovarainministeriö).The Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute(Riiista- ja katalouden) is responsible for thecollation of fisheries statistics.ResourcesApproximately 20 fisheries inspectors workwithin the Regional Units and 5 people workon fisheries policy and administration in theMinistry’s headquarters in Helsinki.The Coast Guard has approximately 430 staffwhich contribute to the fisheries control workand a large number of vessels that can be usedfor offshore and inshore patrols. They also havea number of aircraft they can call upon to provideaerial surveillance within the EEZ.Monitoring, Control and Enforcement: VMSThe national Fisheries Monitoring Centre is basedin Helsinki and Regional Units have remoteaccess to the VMS data.LicensingA national fishing vessel licensing scheme is inoperation and a fleet register database is maintainedfor all vessels over 10 m.Catch recordingThe Regional Units collate and cross-checklogsheets, landing declarations and sales notesbefore inputting the data onto a database whichallows for monitoring of quota uptake.InspectionsThere are 12 designated ports for landing codand an estimated 370 landing locations along theFinnish coastline, although many are ice boundduring the year. In total, 17 vessels were issuedspecial permits for cod in 2005. According theMinistry fishing for cod takes place outside theEEZ and no landings of cod were made intoFinnish ports in 2005. Sweden and Denmark arewhere the majority of cod landings are made bythe Finnish cod fleet.Fisheries inspectors have the power to board vesselsand enter premises involved in the trade offish and are able to seize illegal gear, catches anddocumentation. If further investigation is needed,Fisheries Inspectors from the Regional Units areobliged to request assistance from the police and,if a potential offence has happened at sea, theCoast Guard.Fisheries inspectors also ensure that buyers areregistered and their details maintained on anapproved list.Dealing with infringementsSanctioning of infringements is based on criminalprocedure. Suspected infringement <strong>report</strong>s areforwarded to the police authorities for furtherinvestigation. Evidence is presented to the publicprosecutor who decides on whether there is acase to be answered and, if so, the severity of theoffence. If it is considered to be minor, sanctionsin the form of a fine can be administered by thepolice; if more serious, the prosecutor will bringthe case before a court of first instance.Fines are calculated on the seriousness of the offenceand an individual’s daily income.Additional commentsIn the Commission’s 2004 evaluation <strong>report</strong> ofthe Finnish implementation of the CFP whichrefers to the period 2000–2002, it highlights concernin the low number of inspectors and the effectivenessof Coast Guard inspections. Also, themany and diverse demands on police and localprosecutors are considered to result in excessivedelays in getting cases to court and the potentialdeterrent effect is further reduced with the lowestaverage fines of all Member States.– 64 –