An exchange programme to improve co-operation in the “fight” against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing has been initiated by the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA).
The EU-funded e-FishMed project involves fisheries inspectors and operators of Fisheries Monitoring Centres (FMC) in Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, and Tunisia.
The programme is technically supported by the e-FishMed project partners, France, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain, according to the EFCA.
The first course in the exchange programme is being organised by the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food this month, and participants will start their work in Madrid.
The EFCA says they will visit the Spanish Fisheries Monitoring Centre and participate in several sessions that will facilitate the sharing of knowledge and best practices and reinforce contacts, networks, and cooperation.
The exchange will continue in Malaga where the participants will take part as observers to fishery inspection activities.
The e-FishMed project contributes to harmonising fisheries control and inspection activities and promotes cooperation against IUU fishing, along with “effective implementation of control of conservation and management measures in the Mediterranean”, the EFCA says.
“The project will also contribute to creating the conditions for a sustainable blue economy in that area,” it says.
More information about the e-FishMed Project can be found here.