Interview: Fishery rules revamp will protect species and legitimate fishers

The European Union is revamping its fisheries control regulation to move towards a fully digitalised system, expanding the use of new technologies such as vessel monitoring systems (VMS), electronic logbooks, and CCTV on fishing vessels.

The declared goal is to create a more transparent and compliant fisheries management system, where legitimate fishermen can demonstrate their adherence to the rules, while authorities focus enforcement efforts on non-compliant operators.

At the European Fisheries Control Agency headquarters in Vigo, Spain, Sven Tahon, an EFCA specialist officer, explained the key objectives of this digitalisation process.

“We really go to a fully digitalised fisheries control environment.” he said

“We are revamping the control regulation, going towards a digitalisation of fisheries control, introducing new technologies to record what’s happening at sea, but also helping the people that have to inspect the fishing vessels to enforce the Fisheries Control regulation at member state level.

“VMS [vessel monitoring system] will be expanded to the entire fleet. We will also gradually include also the small scale fisheries. This is the same for the catch registration. This will also be expanded for even up to including recreational fisheries so that we really have a full picture, a full mapping of what is happening.

“We have a focus as always, on fighting illegal fisheries — the illegal, unreported, unregulated fisheries.

“We have to give the chance to the people that want to follow the rules to also prove that they actually follow the rules. And this is one of the main points — this digitalisation will take away any doubt with the fishermen that are playing by the rules that they are they are doing the right thing. Just like that, we will be able to concentrate on the the wrongdoers, the real issues.”

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