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.

A quick solution is needed in order to move forward the reform of EU's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), EU's Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki said to the EU governments in the EU Fisheries Council on 22 April 2013.

With the occasion of the 5th steering committee of the ACP Fish II programme, held on 5th of February in Brussels, CTA Brussels met with Georges Mba-Asseko, Expert in maritime, coastal and fisheries ecosystems at the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), to discuss the situation of fisheries in Central Africa, and the opportunity of the collaboration with the EU, especially in the context of the programme.

A draft joint statement between the Canada and the EU on efforts to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing was endorsed at the last Council meeting on Agriculture and Fisheries held in Luxembourg on 22 April 2013.

Progress in the negotiations for a new protocol to the fisheries partnership agreement between the EU and Morocco is slow, being stranded especially on issue of the financial counterpart from the EU and the issue of inserting a human rights clause, was reported at the last Council of the EU meeting on Agriculture and Fisheries held in Luxembourg on 22 April 2013.