With a trade agreement between South Africa and the European Union (EU) still being negotiated, the country could miss the boat on taking advantage of the EU’s move to reduce fishing in its waters to save dwindling fish stocks.

In the framework of the ACP Fish Program II, funded by the European Union , the Department of Marine Resources of The Bahamas will work on the development of a New Fisheries Act.

A landmark agreement between the Council of Ministers and European Parliament on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) was reached on 30th May, the European Commission informs.

On May 15th, after 36 hours of negotiations, the 27 fisheries ministers of the European Union agreed on a new mandate for the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), which stipulates a 5% ban on discards.

The EU member state Poland is an ideal partner in the development of the fisheries sector in Angola, Angola's Minister of Fisheries, Victória de Barros Netob declared on May 7, after a three day official visit of Poland's under Secretary State for foreign affairs, Beata Stelmach.

Starting June, the first sustainable labeled tuna from Fiji – the Albacore tuna range – will be available on the European market. The tuna range has been accredited since December 2012 with the MSC certification - which gives retailers the certainty of the fishery’s sustainability credentials.

NGOs are concerned about the threat of delays or the possible collapse of Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) negotiations.
The last Council meeting on Agriculture and Fisheries held in Brussels on May 14-15 adopted a revised mandate to facilitate the next stage of negotiations between the Irish Presidency and the European Parliament on the reform of the Policy.

Negotiations on amendments to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (the ICCAT convention) will be started by the European Commission, it was decided at the Council meeting on Agriculture and Fisheries held in Brussels on 13 May 2013.

Crucial talks on the reform of the Common European Fisheries Policy (CFP) get under way in the second day (14th May) of the Council meeting on Agriculture and Fisheries held in Brussels.

The blacklist – as proposed by the Commission - of countries considered non-cooperative in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing was voted on Wednesday 24 April by the European Parliament's fisheries committee. It includes eight countries: Belize, Cambodia, Fiji, Guinea, Panama, Sri Lanka, the Togolese Republic and the Republic of Vanuatu.