Press Release: North Atlantic ports closed to illegally fished products

The European Commission has welcomed the entry into force on 1 May 2007 of the new port state control scheme adopted in November 2006 by the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) to combat illegal fishing. From now on, foreign fishing vessels will not be authorised to land frozen fish products in the ports of NEAFC members unless the state where the vessel is registered has given the port state a green light in advance. The scheme represents a major step towards ensuring that all the fish put on sale within the European Union has been legally caught in the context of sustainable regulated fisheries. The practical implementation of the scheme follows on from successful tests of the control and communications systems involved over the last few weeks.