Skip to main content
European Commission logo print header

Monitoring Compliance with EU Fisheries Regulations

Objetivo

Specific Objectives:
The main objective of the project is to improve compliance monitoring of EU fisheries by making it more effective and more efficient. Specific objectives are to:
- develop and assess systems incorporating spaceborne synthetic aperture radar imagery for fisheries monitoring;
- improve the monitoring capability of airborne surveillance by integrating information from other systems;
- support the development of a harmonised electronic logbook meeting requirements for European catch, sales and landing reporting regulations;
- contribute towards the development of an online database containing the genetic catalogue of European marine fishes; develop the European networks and critical mass in the field of vessel monitoring in order to integrate effort as a contribution to the European Research Area, with particular emphasis on the enlargement countries. Anticipated milestones and schedule: During the course of 2003 4 network meeting will be held (March, June, September and December) in order to progress the work. Two meetings will be held, one in February and one in September in order to define the Pilot Project. benchmarking studies will be undertaken throughout the year to determine the most appropriate algorithms for vesel detection and classification; based on the pilot project in electronic logbooks, a way forward will be proposed in December 2003. The prototype database for genetic characteristics will have been produced by December 2003.
Planned Deliverables:
By the end of the year the integration of passive synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data with the on-board Vessel Monitoring System will be at an advanced stage and the Fisheries Monitoring Centres will be receiving timely SAR images. Contributing to that deliverable will be the following: report on pilot studies in NEAFC, Rockall, Cantabrico and Norwegian Bear Islands - March 2003; high bandwidth satellite link with ground stations - July 2003; state of art and user needs report for vessel classification with SAR (September 2003). For the work on the electronic logbooks an assessment of a proposed first pilot project will be produced (December 2003). For the genetic database a prototype standalone database with sub-set of species will be produced (December 2003). A network of key authorities and research organisations will be produced to integrate European effort in the field as a contribution to the European Research Area. The specific of this will depend on the outcome of first enlargement workshop scheduled for November, 2002, in Ispra.
Summary of the Action:
European Union policy on fishing requires coordinated action at the EU level. A host of legal, political, economic, social and environmental factors encouraged the creation of the Common Fisheries Policy which has operated since 1983 and is now in its second decade. During the Fifth Framework Programme JRC showed that Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery could be a useful tool in fisheries monitoring. In the Sixth Framework Programme JRC will work to integrate different monitoring technologies into an overall system. This will include four main work areas - spaceborne monitoring, airborne monitoring, electronic logboooks and a fish origin database. JRC will complete its pilot project on integration of SAR imagery with Global Positioning System (GPS)-based Vessel Monitoring and, aided by new launches of SAR satellites, further develop a capability of classifying and identifying vessels engaged in illegal activities. At the same time there will be an effort to integrate airborne monitoring, firstly an integration between Member States and secondly an integration of airborne and spaceborne technology. Support will be given to DG-FISH's efforts to develop a harmonised electronic logbook that meets requirements for European catch, sales and landing reporting regulations and JRC will contribute towards the development of an online database containing the genetic catalogue of European marine fishes. JRC is already accepted as a coordinator of European efforts to improve the technology of fisheries monitoring and currently leads two significant collaborative projects involving leading industrial and academic partners as well as the authorities that use the technology. JRC will vigorously continue this networking policy and will participate in indirect actions in the Sixth Framework programme that help it achieve the objectives of this Action. Rationale Whilst the most urgent priority for the Common Fisheries Policy, is to reduce fishing effort in order to preserve stocks, it is also necessary to develop a regulatory system that is accepted as being fair by all stakeholders.

The March 2001 Green Paper on Fisheries suggested that "monitoring and control activities to enforce the CFP are widely seen as insufficient and discriminatory. In almost all Member States, fishermen are calling for a more centralised and harmonised control system at Community level, which, they believe, would provide more efficient action and equal treatment throughout the Community. DG-FISH have asked JRC to support them in developing and assessing new technology for compliance monitoring because JRC has the necessary scientific and technical expertise, whilst being independent of national or commercial interests. This Action is a follow-up of Project 103 "New Technologies for Monitoring Fisheries" from the Fifth Framework Programme. An outcome of that project was a proposal from the Commission that all Member States should introduce a satellite-based vessel detection system by 2004.

Convocatoria de propuestas

Data not available

Régimen de financiación

JRC - Joint Research Centre research

Coordinador

Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen
Aportación de la UE
Sin datos
Dirección
Via E. Fermi 1
I-21020 Ispra
Italia

Ver en el mapa

Coste total
Sin datos