Keres

During the October I plenary session, Parliament is due to vote on a provisional agreement with the Council on tuna fisheries management measures adopted by the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC). As a contracting party to this organisation, the EU must transpose its measures into EU law so that they apply to all Union vessels.

The Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) is an intergovernmental fisheries management organisation responsible for tuna and tuna-like fish stocks in the Indian Ocean. As a contracting party, the European Union must transpose its decisions into EU law, insofar as they are not already covered by it. In March 2021, the European Commission presented a proposal for a new regulation dedicated to the transposition of IOTC rules.

The fisheries agreement with the Republic of Seychelles is the most financially significant EU tuna agreement. During the November I part-session, Parliament is due to vote on giving its consent to the conclusion of a new agreement and implementing protocol, ensuring EU vessels' continued access to one of the richest fishing grounds in the western Indian Ocean. The agreement aims to enable further EU-Seychelles cooperation to promote a sustainable fisheries policy and responsible exploitation of ...

This briefing was prepared to provide information for the visit to La Réunion on 16th September 2018 by a delegation of the European Parliament’s Committee on Regional Development.

Harnessing the oceans' resources in a sustainable manner is the 'new frontier of the African renaissance', according to the African Union (AU). This 'blue growth' will only materialise if the oceans' health and security at sea are restored. For this purpose, the AU has designed an ambitious maritime strategy, but disagreements among the African states are hampering its realisation. The EU could support this strategy, provided cooperation goes beyond security and migration aspects.

Lying in the middle of the Indian Ocean, India relies heavily on the ocean for its energy and trade, but also faces both conventional and non-conventional security challenges which the ocean presents. At the same time, its operational theatre is widening to include a bigger geopolitical region: the Indo-Pacific, including the South China Sea. Alongside this broadening horizon, India needs to reckon with an emerging actor: China. Not only has Beijing's military presence in the Indian Ocean increased ...

In July 2016, the Council adopted a decision authorising the Commission to begin negotiations, on behalf of the EU, for the conclusion of a fisheries agreement and protocol with Kenya. The negotiations are planned for the coming months. This would be the first ever EU fisheries agreement with Kenya, and would complement the regional network of agreements previously concluded in the western Indian Ocean (Seychelles, Madagascar, Mozambique, Comoros and Mauritius). The agreements allow the EU fleet ...

Since 1980, the EU has set up a network of bilateral fisheries agreements, providing fishing opportunities for the EU fleet in the waters of third countries. These agreements were concluded with countries in West Africa (1980-1998), in the western Indian Ocean (1984-1989), and in the western-central Pacific (2003-2007). Over the past few years, the European Commission has considered the possibility of expanding EU fleet access to new partner countries’ waters in the three regions. These fishing opportunities ...

European outermost regions including Reunion are important providers of seafood to the Europeans. Adversely, fisheries play an important role in the economy of insular regions. These remote territories experience specific hardships in relation to their economic development, due to their location, limited range of activities in which they can sustain a competitive advantage. The recent EU fisheries policy change and the expected national compensation scheme for the outermost regions are to remedy ...