# EUR-Lex - 52011DC0424 - EN

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# 52011DC0424

**COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS on External Dimension of the Common Fisheries Policy /* COM/2011/0424 final */**

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1........... Introduction.................................................................................................................... 5

2........... Contributing to long term
sustainability worldwide............................................................ 5

2.1........ Transforming our dialogues into
working partnerships...................................................... 5

2.2........ Upholding and strengthening the
global architecture for fisheries governance..................... 7

2.3........ Contributing towards a more
effective functioning of RFMOs........................................... 8

3........... Towards Sustainable Fisheries
Agreements................................................................... 10

3.1........ Current Fisheries Partnership
Agreements and their shortcomings................................... 10

3.2........ Better promotion of long-term
resource conservation and sustainability........................... 10

3.3........ Reinforcing the governance of
bilateral fisheries agreements............................................ 11

3.4........ More effective support for
sustainable fisheries in partner countries................................ 12

4........... Coherence with other EU policies................................................................................. 13

ANNEX I.................................................................................................................................. 15

ANNEX II................................................................................................................................. 16

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Almost 85% of the world fish stocks for which
information is available are reported as being either fully exploited or
overexploited, according to the most recent assessment made by the UN Food and
Agriculture Organisation[1].
The EU must strive to reverse this situation, through swift and bold
initiatives.

The EU is one of the very few major players
with a strong presence in all of the world’s oceans through its fleets and
investments, bilateral agreements with third countries and participation in
most relevant Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs). It is also a
main market for fishery products in terms of consumption and imports. The EU consumes 11%
of the world fishery resources in terms of volume and imports 24% of fishery
products in terms of value. This confers a heavy responsibility on the EU to
further engage in the tasks of conservation and sustainable management of
international fish stocks.

Contributing to long-term sustainability
worldwide

To ensure sustainable management and
conservation of fisheries resources and enhance performance of RFMOs, the EU should
seek to:

·
Drive forward the global and multilateral agenda
promoting sustainable fisheries worldwide while transforming its dialogues into
working partnerships to address crucial issues such as eradication of illegal,
unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing or reduction of overcapacity.

·
Lead the process of strengthening the
performance of RFMOs to better enable them to conserve and manage marine living
resources under their purview through:

–
Delivery of more reliable data and science to
underpin the decision-making;

–
Increased compliance and control;

–
Reduction of capacity to levels commensurate
with resources;

–
More effective functioning of the RFMOs through
improved decision-making;

–
Introduction of fees for access to high seas by
the members of the RFMO.

·
Better integrate the fisheries, development,
environment, trade and other policies to further advance the objectives of
sustainable and responsible governance.

Bilateral fisheries agreements

International agreements between the EU and
individual third countries should remain the framework for fishing activities
of the EU fleet in third-country waters. In order to promote long-term resource
conservation, good governance of bilateral fisheries relations, and sustainable
development of partner countries' fisheries sector, in future fisheries
agreements the EU should:

·
Base the agreements on the best available
scientific advice and information on the cumulative fishing effort in the
waters concerned;

·
Conduct scientific audits on multi-species (“mixed”)
agreements;

·
Make the respect of human rights an essential
condition for concluding and maintaining fisheries agreements;

·
Move towards an increased contribution of
ship-owners to the cost of access rights;

·
Ensure that fisheries agreements support better
governance of the fisheries sector in the partner country, notably in terms of
surveillance, inspection and administrative as well as scientific capacity;

·
Ensure sound and efficient financial management of
sectoral-support funds under the agreements, and foresee the suspension of
payments if results are not obtained.

Some of these elements should already be
integrated into transitional agreements negotiated before the adoption of the
CFP reform. Once the reform is in place, all negotiations will reflect the new
orientations. At the end of the process, a new generation of Sustainable
Fisheries Agreements (SFAs) will be in place.

1.
Introduction

This Communication presents new orientations
for the external dimension of the reformed Common Fisheries Policy (CFP)[2] and is based on a large number
of consultations and assessments carried out by the Commission services in the
context of the reform. The CFP reform aims to ensure sustainable exploitation
of marine living resources while working towards robust economic performance,
inclusive growth and enhanced cohesion in coastal regions. The new orientations
for the external dimension of reformed CFP intend to project these principles
at the international level and contribute to more responsible international
fisheries governance, delivering sustainable exploitation of fish stocks
globally by achieving mortality levels compatible with Maximum Sustainable
Yield (MSY[3])
by 2015, while mitigating the impact of fishing activities on the marine
ecosystem. This ultimately means a viable future for both European and
third-country fishermen alike.

These orientations will also feature greater
synergies with the EU's Integrated Maritime Policy (IMP), which will enable the
EU to take a more ecosystem-oriented approach to fisheries management as well
as to address overarching issues of impact on international fish stocks, such
as climate change and pollution.

2.
Contributing to long term sustainability worldwide
2.1.
Transforming our dialogues into working
partnerships

The EU is engaged in bilateral dialogues with
its main international partners, such as the United States of America, Canada,
Japan, Australia, New Zealand as well as Russia and China. The aim of such
dialogues is to ensure sustainability of global fishery, forge alliances on
issues of fisheries governance and solve problems on a bilateral basis.

There are traditionally strong relationships
with the EU's Northern neighbours, in particular Norway, under the so-called
Northern Arrangements. These arrangements provide for a shared resource
management in the waters of the North-Atlantic, the Arctic, the Baltic and the
North Sea. More recently, the EU-Russia bilateral agreement for the joint
management of the Baltic Sea came into force in 2009. As regards highly
migratory and straddling stocks (including mackerel and blue whiting) in the
North East Atlantic, the EU cooperates with the same Northern neighbours in the
Coastal States fora. The Commission will consider best approaches to strengthen
this cooperation to take into account developments in regional processes which
will seek to manage resources on a sea-basin level.

At the same time, the EU's relationship with
the near abroad continues to be guided by the principles of the European
Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) through which the EU offers
its neighbours a privileged relationship, building upon a mutual commitment to
common values (democracy and human rights, rule of law, good governance, market
economy principles and sustainable development). The ENP is also a
well-suited conveyor of the EU's Integrated Maritime Policy to neighbouring ENP
partner countries, encouraging actors in the Baltic Sea, Mediterranean and
Black Sea to build and strengthen mechanisms for peer exchanges for which the
EU can provide the initiative as well as support.

Putting an end to illegal fishing

In order to effectively address the main
problems facing today’s fisheries such as combating the Illegal, Unregulated
and Unreported (IUU) fishery and reducing overcapacity, the EU needs to secure
support from other global players.

The Commission proposes to launch, by the end
of 2013, discussions with other major fishery import States, in particular the
USA and Japan[4],
to implement a common approach for preventing IUU products from entering these
markets. Such an initiative could be modelled on the EU IUU Regulation[5] and would pave the way to
eradicating IUU fishery over the course of the next decade, especially if
joined by other major players. The Commission would be open in the near future
to implementing joint mechanisms for information exchange and harmonisation of
approaches towards IUU actors (flag States or fleets) with its partners.

ACTION · A working partnership with key counterparts aiming at development of a common approach against IUU fishing.

Overcapacity – a global issue

Within the framework of achieving
fishing-mortality levels compatible with MSY by 2015 at the latest, the
Commission intends to launch a high-level political initiative to discuss the
avenues for capacity reduction on a global level by 2013. Such an initiative
would take into account the aspirations of the developing States and be consistent
with the CFP reform which will propose rights-based management as one of the
main mechanisms to achieve capacity reduction.

ACTION · A high-level conference to discuss ways of reducing capacity will be called for by the EU by 2013 to pave the way for a process aimed at addressing overcapacity at a global level.

2.2.
Upholding and strengthening the global
architecture for fisheries governance

At a global level, the EU participates in the
work of the United Nations, as a Party to the United Nations Convention on the
Law of the Sea[6]
as well as a Party to the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement[7]. The EU is also an active
Member of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and
participates in the work of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD).

These are key organisations to advance
discussions on the protection and conservation of marine living resources. Once
agreements within these fora were reached (e.g. on protection of Vulnerable
Marine Ecosystems within the UN), these instruments have been successfully
implemented on a more operational level through the adoption of concrete
conservation measures by Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs).
The involvement of the EU in these arenas should therefore be focused and
enhanced, along the following lines:

–
Continue promoting initiatives concentrating on
the role of port States and flag States in combating IUU activities in the
framework of the FAO, such as the 2009 Port State Agreement or technical
consultations on flag State performance;

–
Continue advocating to raise major issues of
concern, such as overcapacity, discards, by-catch or the impact of certain
fishing gears on marine ecosystems, at the UN level;

–
Promote the establishment of a level playing
field for vessels fishing in RFMO and third country waters, to avoid a
"race to the bottom" where a laxer management framework could be
abused to the detriment of resources. Such an action would be implemented
without prejudice to the primary responsibility of flag States for the
responsible behaviour of their vessels.

ACTIONS The Commission will propose to the Council: · To continue to put forward ambitious proposals for the annual UN General Assembly Resolution on sustainable fisheries; · To reinforce support for the development of international instruments for the conservation and management of fish stocks in the context of the FAO; · To launch an initiative at UN level for a Global Certification Scheme to eradicate IUU fishing. · To promote the respect of high sustainability standards by third parties in the high seas and third country waters.

2.3.
Contributing towards a more effective
functioning of RFMOs

RFMOs are the key fora for the conservation and
management of shared and migratory fish stocks. Under the UNCLOS as well as the
UN Fish Stocks Agreement, the EU has committed itself to participate in the
works of various RFMOs, provided it has a real interest[8] in the fisheries managed by
these Organisations as a fishing nation or a market state. The role of the EU
in these fora has significantly increased since 1999, when the last "Communication
on Community participation in Regional Fisheries Organisations (RFOs)" was
published[9].

However, despite the efforts of the RFMOs to
sustainably manage resources under their competence, the fish stocks have
continued to decline. Almost 85% of the world fish stocks for which assessment
information is available are reported as being either fully exploited or
overexploited, according to the most recent estimation made by the FAO[10]. Such a trend has been
experienced for several decades and reflects an increased exploitation of fish
stocks, in particular due to an increasing consumer demand for fishery
products.

In the short to medium term, the EU should
direct its efforts at tackling the main difficulties preventing RFMOs from
delivering on their mandates, by directing its actions along the following
policy lines:

·
The functioning of RFMOs should be enhanced
through systematically conducted performance reviews, in line with the
appropriate UN Resolutions;

·
More reliable scientific data and advice should
be available to RFMOs through increasing the EU's investment in data
collection, applied research, scientific knowledge and in RFMOs' scientific
activities while encouraging other RFMO Members to do the same. The EU should
also promote a wider scope of scientific advice, notably through an
implementation of the precautionary and ecosystem approaches and complementing
them with the tools of socio-economic analysis;

·
To remedy the current situation of poor
compliance of some Members with RFMOs' conservation and management measures,
the EU should promote the following:

–
A periodic review of the compliance records of
each individual Party in the respective RFMOs;

–
Identification of reasons for the lack of
compliance (e.g. lack of capacity in developing countries) and addressing them
in an appropriate, focused manner;

–
Development and implementation of transparent
and non-discriminatory sanctions in cases of clear lack of compliance or political
engagement by Parties. This process could be accompanied by incentives to
reward "complying" and "transparent" actors (flag States or
fleets).

·
Overcapacity is an issue to be addressed both on
a multilateral level (the EU launching an initiative together with its main
partners) and RFMO level. The EU should advocate tackling overcapacity through
a review of the best available scientific advice on sustainable levels of catch
and consideration of measures to address it. Such measures could include
capacity freeze or reduction while taking into account the aspirations of the
developing States to develop their own fishery sector.

·
Adoption of decisions on management measures
through consensus is the best guarantee for the highest level of compliance. Nevertheless,
the EU should advocate a reform of decision-making systems in RFMOs, in
particular to allow for voting, where necessary, in line with the most
progressive and efficient procedure recently adopted in the Convention for the
South Pacific RFMO[11].

·
In order to strengthen the financial base of
RFMOs and further encourage responsible use of resources by the fleets, the EU
should promote the concept of operators whose vessels fly the flag of an RFMO
Member paying a fee to RFMOs for access to high seas fisheries. A
well-conceived pay-for-access regime developed in full conformity with UNCLOS
would act as an additional factor preventing the "tragedy of the
commons"[12].

ACTIONS The Commission will propose to the Council: · To encourage the review of RFMOs' performance, aiming at all Organisations completing their first reviews by the end of 2013 and subsequently undertaking them at regular intervals (3 to 5 years); · To promote the concept of a pay-for-access regime through introduction of fees for placing vessels on RFMO authorised-vessels lists in a limited number of RFMOs; · To promote actions outlined in this Chapter in a coherent and structured way, to allow these organisations to effectively deliver against their mandate. This would ensure a sustainable and regulated level of fishing activities (MSY-based) on the stocks under the RFMO's purview and protection of marine biodiversity.

3.
Towards Sustainable Fisheries Agreements
3.1.
Current Fisheries Partnership Agreements
and their shortcomings

Bilateral fisheries agreements between the EU
and third countries have long been a feature of the Common Fisheries Policy.
The 2002 reform of the CFP introduced important changes to bilateral agreements
by putting emphasis on the partnership approach and the development of
sustainable fisheries in the partner countries. Current Fisheries Partnership
Agreements (FPAs) have the objective to allow EU vessels to fish, in a
regulated and legally secured environment, surplus resources[13] in the exclusive economic
zones (EEZs) of a number of third countries[14].

FPAs aim at supporting the development of a sustainable
fisheries sector in partner countries. By doing so, they tend to have a
positive economic and social impact. In particular, they contribute positively to
local economies through the employment of seamen, landings, fish processing
industries while they also contribute to food supply in partner countries.

In spite of several improvements, substantial shortcomings
continue to affect the functioning of FPAs, as has been highlighted most
recently by the consultation on the 2009 Green Paper[15]:

·
The scientific knowledge on certain stocks in
foreign waters is insufficient to establish the overall size of the surplus;

·
The terms and conditions of fishing agreements
concluded by partner countries with other (non-EU) countries are usually not
known to the EU;

·
Consequently it is often impossible to assess
the overall fishing effort targeted at the stocks, and to determine the share
of the surplus to be sustainably fished by the EU fleet;

·
There are limits to the absorption capacity of
many partner countries when it comes to effectively using FPA funds allocated
to the support of the sector.

The Commission considers that current FPAs
should be transformed into Sustainable Fisheries Agreements (SFAs) focusing on
resource conservation and environmental sustainability, improved governance and
effectiveness of sectoral support.

3.2.
Better promotion of long-term resource
conservation and sustainability

SFAs should be always based on the best
available scientific advice, using the concept of maximum sustainable yield (MSY)
as a reference.

The Commission will launch scientific audits to
assess existing multi-species agreements consisting of independent peer reviews
of available scientific data. On that basis, and in line with the eco-system
approach, it will decide if it is necessary to refocus these agreements on
species where the level of scientific knowledge is sufficient and the total
fishing effort known[16].
As for tuna agreements, scientific data provided by the relevant RFMOs will be
used in a more rigorous manner . Catch-reporting provisions should be
thoroughly complied with by Member States. The Commission will deal with allegations
of non-compliance swiftly and fairly.

The Commission will also endeavour that SFAs include
a transparency clause, whereby the cumulative fishing effort in a given partner
country is made known to the EU.

ACTIONS The Commission will: · systematically launch scientific audits to assess the stocks before negotiating new protocols to multi species agreements; · ensure compliance of Member States with catch-reporting rules applying in the waters of partner countries, including through full use of existing legal instruments such as the IUU Regulation; · reinforce transparency on the global fishing efforts in third countries’ waters through specific clauses in bilateral agreements and contacts with other third parties.

3.3.
Reinforcing the governance of bilateral
fisheries agreements

Current FPAs need to be reformed to provide a fully-fledged governance
framework for the fishing activities of EU vessels in third-country waters. The
implementation of the agreements must be simplified, they must provide better
means of reacting to human-rights violations, and public contributions to the
costs of access must be reduced.

SFAs must be easier to implement and to comply with. To this end they
should be based on "model agreements", and standard clauses should be
introduced. With regard to fishing authorisations issued and managed under the
agreements, the administrative process should be eased. The Commission will
make in 2012 a proposal to revise the Fishing Authorisations Regulation[17].

A human-rights clause should be inserted in all
future agreements, as it is already the case with protocols that have recently
been initialled, so that breaches of essential and fundamental elements of
human rights and democratic principles would ultimately result in a suspension
of the protocol to the agreement. This clause should follow the example of
provisions established by the Cotonou Agreement[18], where applicable, or other
relevant international instruments and agreements.

The exclusivity clause in current FPAs prevents
EU vessels from fishing outside of the regulatory framework of the agreement
where one exists and guarantees that all EU vessels are subject to the same
rules. To prevent circumvention of the exclusivity clause by reflagging, future
fisheries agreements should foresee that an EU vessel which changes flag to
elude its obligations or to obtain additional fishing opportunities will not be
allowed any more to fish in the partner country's EEZ.

The EU fishing industry should take a fair
share of the costs of access to third countries’ surplus resources. The contribution
from the EU budget should be reduced accordingly.

ACTIONS The Commission will: · make a proposal by 2012 to revise the Fishing Authorisations Regulation to simplify the management of fishing authorisations; · seek to make the respect of human rights a necessary condition for the conclusion of SFAs and for maintaining fisheries cooperation with third countries; · seek to introduce in bilateral agreements provisions to prevent abusive reflagging. · aim at increasing the contribution of shipowners to the costs of access to third-country waters.

3.4.
More effective support for sustainable fisheries in partner countries

The EU’s financial support to third countries’
sectoral policy should result in concrete and measurable benefits for the
partner countries including in the domain of sustainable local fisheries. It
should aim to support their administrative and scientific capacity and be
directed notably at monitoring, control and surveillance activities, including
the fight against IUU fishing. The improvement of scientific advice and
capacity building should also be a priority for the EU's support to partner
countries under SFAs.

At the same time, sectoral support should be
made more effective, better targeted and regularly assessed. Guarantee of
result should be sought from partner countries and conditionality should be
strengthened so that no payment be made when it fails to deliver. The
Commission will develop general guidelines to monitor sectoral-support funds
under all fisheries agreements which can then be adapted to specific
agreements.

The Commission will also seek to increase the
added value of the sectoral support to the sustainable development of the
fisheries sector of the partner countries by better taking into consideration
the overall strategies and priorities defined in each of them.

ACTIONS The Commission will: · propose to decouple in all cases sectoral support payments from fisheries access rights payments and will define sectoral support in the light of the needs and absorption capacity of the partner countries; · seek to introduce stronger conditionality for the sectoral part, so that payments would be linked to the progress achieved in the implementation of the sectoral support. · support partner countries' efforts to improve data collection and the provision of accurate scientific advice.

4.
Coherence with other EU policies

In order to fulfil the goals mentioned in this
Communication, the voice of the EU needs to be more powerful in various global
fora through greater synergies between its actions and policies in the realm of
international fisheries governance and the domains of development, trade,
environment, research and innovation, foreign policy and others. This will
inter alia be done along the following lines:

–
Coordination of fisheries and development
policies should ensure that the recognition of the aspirations of the
developing States to build up their own fishery sector is linked to raising
awareness of their duties of sustainable fisheries governance.

–
Synergies between future fisheries agreements
and development policies and instruments, in particular the European
Development Fund (EDF) and other policies such as research and innovation
policy will be pursued.

–
In the context of the European Union's external
action, the EU will continue to support fisheries-related strategies and
programmes, such as maritime security and the fight against piracy, under its
overall partnership and cooperation strategies.

–
The EU, as a major importer of fishery products,
already prevents IUU products from reaching its market. The EU's trade policy
can also contribute to ensure sustainable fishing worldwide through promoting adherence
to the relevant international conventions and agreements relating to fisheries
governance in the framework of preferential trade agreements.

–
Coherence of environmental and fisheries
objectives will be ensured through a continued integration of policies
developed by the environmental international bodies and conventions into the
RFMOs' conservation and management decisions.

ACTIONS The Commission will: · develop and implement oceans- and sea-based regional strategies for sustainable fisheries, e.g. in the Pacific and Indian Oceans as well as in the Mediterranean Sea. · by the end of 2011, adopt a proposal for a legal framework, including trade related measures, to ensure sustainability of fisheries resources.

ANNEX I

Regional Fisheries Management Organisations

ANNEX II

Bilateral Fisheries Agreements

Type of agreement || Partner country || Protocol in force until || EU's Annual financial contribution

Multi-species ("mixed") agreements || Greenland || 31 December 2012 || 14 307 244 €

Guinea Bissau || 15 June 2011 || 7 500 000 €

Mauritania || 31 July 2012 || From 86 000 000 € (1st year) to 70 000 000 € (4th year)

Morocco || 27 February 2012 || 36 100 000 €

Tuna agreements – West Africa || Cape-Verde || 31 August 2011 || 385 000 €

Gabon || 2 December 2011 || 860 000 €

Ivory Coast || 30 June 2013 || 595 000 €

São Tomé and Principe || End 2013 || 682 500 €

Tuna agreements – Indian Ocean || Comoros || 31 December 2013 || 615 250 €

Madagascar || 31 December 2012 || 1 197 000 €

Mozambique || 31 December 2011 || 900 000 €

Seychelles || 17 January 2014 || 5 600 000 €

Tuna agreements – Pacific || Kiribati || 15 September 2012 || 478 400 €

Micronesia || 25 February 2010 (new Protocol of 5-year duration in the ratification process) || 559 000 €

Solomon Islands || 8 October 2012 || 400 000 €

Dormant agreements || || ||

Gambia || No protocol in force ||

Guinea || No protocol in force ||

Equatorial Guinea || No protocol in force ||

Mauritius || No protocol in force ||

Senegal || No protocol in force ||

[1]               The State of World Fisheries
and Aquaculture 2010, FAO, Rome 2010, p. 35. Of the marine stocks monitored by FAO, more than half
(53%) were estimated to be fully exploited, 28% overexploited, 3% depleted and
1% recovering from depletion. 3% of the stocks were estimated as underexploited
and 12% as moderately exploited.

[2]               Orientations for the external dimension of the
Integrated Maritime Policy have been laid down in the Communication
from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - Developing the
international dimension of the Integrated Maritime Policy of the European Union
(COM(2009)0536final)

[3]               MSY is
the largest yield (or catch) that can be taken from a species' stock over an
indefinite period. Fundamental to the notion of sustainable harvest, the
concept of MSY aims to maintain the population size at the point of maximum
growth rate by harvesting the individuals that would normally be added to the
population, allowing the population to continue to be productive indefinitely

[4]               These countries represent together with
the EU two-thirds of the world market in fishery products; see The State of
World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2010, FAO, Rome 2010

[5]               Council Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 of
29 September 2008, establishing a Community system to prevent, deter and
eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, amending Regulation
(EEC) No 2847/93, (EC) No 1936/2001 and (EC) No 601/2004 and repealing
Regulations (EC) No 1093/94 and (EC) No 1447/1999.

[6]               UNCLOS, 1982, also known as the Montego
Bay Convention.

[7]               Agreement implementing the provisions of
UNCLOS relating to the conservation and management of straddling stocks and
highly migratory fish stocks, UNFSA, 1995, also known as New York Agreement.

[8]               "Real interest" can derive
from fishing in the high seas, being a coastal State with an EEZ included in an
RFMO area of competence, or being a significant importer of fishery products
caught in an area managed by an RFMO.

[9]               COM(1999) 613 final, 08.12.1999

[10]             The State of World Fisheries
and Aquaculture 2010, FAO, Rome 2010, p. 35. Of the marine stocks monitored by FAO, more than half
of them (53%) were estimated to be fully exploited, 28% overexploited, 3%
depleted and 1% recovering from depletion. 3% of the stocks were estimated as
underexploited and 12% as moderately exploited. Of the tuna and tuna-like
stocks for which the state of exploitation is known, possibly up to 60% of the
stocks are fully exploited, up to 35% of the stocks are classified as
overexploited or depleted, with only a few appearing to be underexploited
(mainly skipjack).

[11]             Convention
on the Conservation and Management of High Seas Fishery Resources in the South
Pacific Ocean, Articles 16, 17

[12]             The tragedy
of the commons is a dilemma arising from the situation in which multiple
individuals, acting independently and rationally consulting their own
self-interest, will ultimately deplete a shared limited resource, even when it
is clear that it is not in anyone's long-term interest for this to happen.

[13]             The share
of the allowable catch which the coastal State cannot or does not wish to exploit
itself; see Article 62(2) of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the
Sea.

[14]             See Annex 2 for an overview the EU’s current bilateral fisheries
agreements and their main characteristics. To become fully operational,
bilateral fisheries agreements have to be accompanied by a protocol which
determines the specifics of fishing opportunities and financial contribution.
Agreements without a protocol in force or in the process of ratification are
referred to as “dormant”.

[15]             Synthesis
of the Consultation on the Reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, SEC(2010)428
final, 16.4.2010.

[16]             Current
FPAs can be divided into (a) those covering exclusively tuna and related highly
migratory species (tuna agreements), and (b) those which also cover other
species (also known as mixed agreements). Due to their coverage by RFMOs,
scientific information about tuna stocks is generally better than about other
species.

[17]             Council Regulation (EC) No 1006/2008 of 29 September 2008 concerning
authorisations for fishing activities of Community fishing vessels outside
Community waters and the access of third country vessels to Community waters,
amending Regulations (EEC) No 2847/93 and (EC) No 1627/94 and repealing
Regulation (EC) No 3317/94..

[18]             The
Cotonou Agreement is the most comprehensive partnership agreement between
developing countries and the EU. Since 2000, it has been the framework for the
EU's relations with 79 countries from Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific
(ACP).