Ministers Sign Agreement on Control, Inspection of Fishing Activities

The agreement includes the inspection of ships and their activities and control of fishing regulations on land.

The Minister of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Miguel Arias Caete, and Interior Minister, Jorge Fernandez Diaz, signed the agreement, after the meeting of the Council of Ministers.

This agreement is signed under the Framework Agreement between the two ministries, signed in 1997, on the control, inspection and surveillance of fishing activities, which states that the coordinated action for such inspection instrument control through annual programmes.

As concrete actions, the agreement includes monitoring and control of fishing activities, the fishing vessel inspection to verify compliance with national and EU legislation, and the inspection and supervision of their activities.

Inspections shall be performed in Spanish territorial fisheries and, if necessary, of the exclusive economic zone and fisheries protection zone in the Mediterranean.

In addition, the agreement includes monitoring activities and enforcement of fishing regulations on land, on the gear and catches. The aim is to ensure compliance with the Common Fisheries Policy in conservation, protection and regulation of fisheries resources.