Since the establishment of the Fisheries Local Action Group (FLAG) Programme in 2013 under the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) it has gone from strength to strength. In a major departure from previous fisheries funding programmes it involves a partnership approach between a state agency, in Ireland in the form of BIM, and coastal communities to develop a Local Development Strategy (LDS) and allocate funding to implement that strategy.
The Chief Executive of the Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation has welcomed the latest Brexit declaration as having achieved specific acknowledgment and reference to the crucial issue of the linkage between access and quotas to the wider trade issue.
UK prime minister Theresa May was adamant in Parliament that Britain's fishing industry is not about the be traded off, while not everyone is convinced following the political declaration made in Parliament.
Consolidated Fisheries and the Falkland Islands Fisheries Department have confirmed that the Falkland Islands toothfish longline fishery has been re-certified for a further five years by the Marine Stewardship Council.
The European Commission has put forward proposals to follow precautionary advice for virtually all deep sea stocks, and Commissioner Karmenu Vella commented that there is frequently incomplete knowledge on the state of these vulnerable stocks.
Nine days of intense discussion on Atlantic tunas at the ICCAT plenary meeting has resulted in disappointment with the failure to able to reach a consensus to revise the management plan for tropical tunas, in particular for bigeye tuna, which is considered to be overexploited by ICCAT’s scientific committee.
The directors of small-scale fishing organisation LIFE Platform (Low Impact Fishers of Europe) have come together in Brussels to oversee the latest phase of its evolution.
Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation CEO Seán O’Donoghue has welcomed the first drafts of the Brexit withdrawal agreement, commenting that such an agreement would contribute to the Irish fishing industry avoiding a disastrous hard Brexit.
The EU and Guinea Bissau have signed a new Sustainable Fishing Partnership Agreement (SFPA) protocol, a year after the previous protocol expired.
In the wake of the latest instalment in the Brexit saga, SFF chief executive Bertie Armstrong has reminded British PM Theresa May that commitments have been made to the UK fishing industry.