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European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency
  • Report

Scientific and technical knowledge of the EU-fisheries, exploited stocks and sensitive marine habitats in the high seas and third countries waters

Final report and annexes

Details

Identification
PDF ISBN 978-92-9405-160-8 doi:10.2926/1880742, PDF ISBN 978-92-9405-161-5 doi:10.2926/8657746 HZ-01-24-028-EN-N
Publication date
16 January 2025 (Last updated on: 17 January 2025)
Author
European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency

Description

The Sustainable Management of External Fishing Fleets (SMEFF) Regulation is in place to ensure European Union (EU) fishing vessels conducting fishing activities outside Union waters adhere to the same sustainability principles as those operating inside EU waters.

The SMEFF Regulation sets rules, conditions, and criteria for fishing authorisations, and defines processes and protocols that must be followed by the fishing operator, the flag Member State and the European Commission (EC) throughout the authorisation process for EU vessels fishing in non-EU waters.

The SMEFF Regulation also requires a scientific evaluation demonstrating the sustainability of the planned fishing operations, which must be provided by either a Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (RFMO), a regional fisheries body with scientific competence, or a third country (or in cooperation with it). The scientific protocols employed in these evaluations must be validated by a scientific institute of the flag Member State.

Member States must ensure that their fishing operators provide all the necessary information to demonstrate fulfilment of the SMEFF Regulation, before passing the relevant information onto the EC for review.

The EC may then request that further information be provided or, if the requirements of the SMEFF Regulation are suitably fulfilled, it can grant the fishing authorisation for such a fishery under the SMEFF Regulation (henceforth called ‘SMEFF fishery’).

However, the SMEFF Regulation does not set out specific criteria for what scientific information is required for any given SMEFF request.

This study offers recommendations for the development of a sound science-based decision framework, with associated scientific protocols required to demonstrate a prospective fishery’s sustainability.

High Seas Fisheries SMEFF Regulation

Files

Report and Annexes

  • 16 JANUARY 2025
Final report - Scientific and technical knowledge of the EU-fisheries, exploited stocks and sensitive marine habitats in the high seas and third countries waters
  • 16 JANUARY 2025
Annexes - Scientific and technical knowledge of the EU-fisheries, exploited stocks and sensitive marine habitats in the high seas and third countries waters