Commission notifies Senegal of need to step up fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.

Today, the Commission has issued a ‘yellow card’ to Senegal, a notification of the need to step up actions in the fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing. In the framework of the EU’s commitment to fight IUU fishing worldwide and as a consequence of several years of deficiencies and lack of cooperation, the Commission has pre-identified Senegal as a non-cooperating country in the fight against IUU fishing. The Commission’s decision is based on serious shortcomings detected over the last years in the system that the country has put in place for compliance with its international obligations as flag, port, coastal or market State.

Deficiencies identified in the monitoring, control and surveillance systems of Senegal relate to vessels flying the flag of Senegal and operating in waters outside the country’s jurisdiction, as well as in the controls carried out on foreign fishing vessels at Dakar port. In addition, illegal exportations from Senegal to the EU market have been detected, which undermines the reliability of the traceability system upon which the certification of the legality of the fisheries products is based. Finally, Senegal has so far not demonstrated sufficient willingness to cooperate with the Commission in fighting IUU fishing.

The Commission applies a zero-tolerance approach towards IUU fishing. IUU fishing is one of the most serious threats to the sustainable exploitation of living aquatic resources, jeopardising the very foundation of global efforts to promote better ocean governance, as well as the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy. IUU fishing also represents a major hazard to the marine environment, the sustainability of fish stocks and marine biodiversity.

The fight against IUU fishing is an important aspect of the European Green Deal, the EU’s biodiversity strategy for protecting the marine environment and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal for the conservation and sustainable use of the ocean, seas and marine resources.

Next steps

With this decision, the Commission starts a formal dialogue with Senegal. Acknowledging the commitment of the new Government of Senegal to address the shortcomings, the European Commission expresses its availability to support the country in the fight against IUU fishing.

At this stage, the decision does not yet entail any measures affecting trade. The ‘yellow card’ offers Senegal the possibility to react and take measures to rectify the situation within a reasonable time.

However, in cases of prolonged and continued non-compliance, countries can ultimately face a procedure of identification (‘red card’), which entails sanctions, as, for example, the prohibition to export their fishery products to the EU market.

Background

The EU is the world’s biggest importer of fisheries products.

The global value of IUU fishing is estimated at €10-20 billion per year. Between 11 and 26 million tonnes of fish are caught illegally every year, corresponding to at least 15% of world catches.

Today’s decision is based on the EU’s IUU Regulation, which entered into force in 2010. One of the pillars of this Regulation is the catch certification scheme that ensures that only legally caught fisheries products can access the EU market. The Regulation also provides for specific dialogue mechanisms with the countries that are not complying with their obligations as flag, coastal, port and market State under international law.

While failure to cooperate in the framework of the dialogue can lead to an identification of the country (‘red card’), the IUU dialogues are based on cooperation and support to countries and are an important step in tackling IUU fishing, with sanctions being only a last resort measure.

Since November 2012, the Commission entered in formal dialogues with 27 third countries, officially warning them of the need to take effective action to fight IUU fishing. In most cases, significant progress was observed and the Commission could therefore satisfactorily close the formal dialogue phase and lift the yellow card. Only a few countries have not shown the necessary commitment to reforms until now.

For More Information

Questions and Answers on the pre-identification of Senegal as a non-cooperating country in the fight against IUU fishing 

EU action against illegal fishing

Infographics on the fight against IUU fishing and the yellow card procedure

Quote(s)

The European Commission is strongly committed to sustainable fisheries and efficient ocean governance. We have zero tolerance for IUU fishing and today we are taking action by giving Senegal a yellow card. Senegal plays an important role in fisheries governance in West Africa. The Commission acknowledges the recent actions taken by the new government (i.e. publication of the list of fishing licences, and the audit of the fishing fleet) and it is reassured by this. Therefore, we stand ready to cooperate actively with the country in the fight against IUU fishing, and in particular to help the country remedy the situation and address the threats that IUU fishing poses to the sustainability of fish stocks, coastal communities, food security and the livelihoods of fishers who abide by the rules.

Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries