Transparency is a key principle of the EU's approach to European and international fisheries policy.
The EU observes with interest the establishment of the FITI initiative, an encouraging contribution to the shared goal of making national and international fisheries more transparent. Mauritania, Indonesia and the Seychelles are among the first countries that have expressed the intention to establish a national transparency reporting mechanism.
Fisheries transparency aims at providing relevant stakeholders and the public with data on resources management, and at increasing resource sustainability.
Transparency is at the core of the EU's reformed Common Fisheries Policy and is incorporated as a requirement in the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements concluded between the EU and non-EU countries.
SFPAs create a partnership to promote sustainable fisheries, based on the best available scientific advice, with the objective of allowing EU vessels to fish only surplus resources in the fishing zones of partner countries.
The public can consult SFPAs in their entirety, including information on fishing opportunities, financial compensation and technical conditions. These highly regulated and transparent frameworks are now recognised by most stakeholders as governance benchmarks for the sustainable management of fisheries worldwide and reflect the responsibility of the EU towards its fleet wherever it operates.
The European Commission also recently proposed new rules to improve the transparency and monitoring of the EU fleet operations outside EU waters.
