European Fisheries Control Agency - EFCA

🌊 Making Waves in Western Waters! We hosted the Western Waters Joint Deployment Plan workshop for fisheries inspectors in Madeira. 28 inspectors from Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Ireland, Lithuania, Latvia, Netherlands, Poland, and Portugal came together to share expertise, tackle challenges, and align fisheries control operations across Western Waters. Workshop highlights: 🐟 Visit to Funchal auction facilities 📊 Insights on fishery species of commercial interest in the Central Eastern Atlantic 🛡️ Sharing best practices for monitoring VMEs (Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems) 🚢 Lessons from EFCA coordinated patrols in 2025 ✅ The usefulness of the last haul verification, results obtained and the way forward Workshops like this strengthen cooperation among inspectors and promote a level playing field. #Training #FisheriesControl #WeAssist

📍Copenhagen | at the North Atlantic Coast Guard Forum Summit 🌊 The NACGF is a voluntary platform of 20 member countries — including Coast Guards from EU Member States, Iceland, Norway, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States — working together to enhance cooperation on maritime safety and security in the North Atlantic. EFCA, the European Maritime Safety Agency, and Frontex are also members of the forum, cooperating under the Tripartite Working Arrangement, which promotes coordination in surveillance, capacity building, and maritime domain awareness in support of the EU Maritime Security Strategy (EUMSS). We participated in the Fisheries Enforcement Working Group, contributing to discussions on joint control activities and enforcement cooperation. Together with EMSA and Frontex, we also announced the Greening Award Initiative 2026 🌱 — submissions are open until March 2026. 🔗 bit.ly/4hfLwZ1 #EUCoastGuard #Cooperation #MaritimeSecurity #EUMSS #EUAgencies

📘 EFCA – 2024: A Year in Review From coordinating 45,000+ inspections to training over 2,600 officials, 2024 was another year of strengthening cooperation and compliance for sustainable fisheries. Discover how EFCA worked with EU Member States, partner agencies, and international projects to foster a culture of compliance and contribute to a level playing field for all. 🔗 Read the full report: http://bit.ly/434z8FF #FisheriesControl #WeAssist #CommonFisheriesPolicy

Working together to strengthen global fisheries control. 🌊 We supported the FAO Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA) Training with a dedicated session at our premises and Coordination Centre in Vigo. Our experts presented EFCA’s cooperative model for fisheries control and capacity building, with a special focus on projects in Africa, to participants from 15 countries — contributing to international cooperation in the fight against #IUUfishing. #FisheriesControl #CapacityBuilding #WeAssist

Excellence in Progress: EFCA's First Course for Member States' Trainers in Full Swing 🎓 This week in Málaga, 20 participants from 9 EU Member States came together for the inaugural edition of EFCA’s course for Member States' Trainers. Developed by the EFCA Excellence in Training Sector in collaboration with external experts Ileana Chersan and Heinz Scheider, the course is designed to strengthen the skills of trainers working in fisheries control administrations and to support future EFCA training activities. Over four intensive days, learners are diving into practical modules on: ✅ Training preparation ✅ Facilitation techniques ✅ Assessment strategies ✅ Delivering meaningful feedback Based on feedback and evolving needs, future sessions are already in the pipeline! #FisheriesControl #TrainingExcellence #EUCooperation #CapacityBuilding

📘 New publication: Risk Assessment Methodology 2025 We present the updated Guidelines on Risk Assessment Methodology on Fisheries Compliance — clearer, easier to use, and now complemented with new annexes— a key tool that helps us and Member States focus control efforts where they are most needed. The methodology offers a structured and transparent approach to identifying, analysing, and evaluating risks of non-compliance in fisheries. It supports the effective and sustainable monitoring of fishing activities across the EU and beyond. 📄 Read the full document here: http://bit.ly/3KLjqZD #FisheriesControl #WeAssist #RiskAssessment #Compliance #sustainablefisheries

We thank the World Maritime University for hosting us. It was a pleasure for us — and for our Executive Director, Susan Steele — to meet such a diverse and engaged group of students and to exchange views on fisheries control and international cooperation. We are grateful to President Professor Maximo Q. Mejia Jr., Professor Ronán Long, Francis Neat, and Raphaël Baumler for their warm welcome and insightful discussions.

Welcome to the delegation from Guinea-Bissau, led by the Director-General for Industrial Fisheries. We presented EFCA’s main activities, with a focus on our work in the region & our support to the international dimension of the Common Fisheries Policy. 🌊 #FisheriesControl

🎣#Conxemar2025 is now open in #Vigo! This international fair by Conxemar is a great meeting point for stakeholders across the fisheries sector — and we’re here together with #EUMOFA and the European Commission . If you’re attending, drop by Hall 6 — we look forward to seeing you! 👋

🌊 EFCA joins the launch of the West Africa Sustainable Ocean Programme (WASOP) We are proud to join the official launch of the West Africa Sustainable Ocean Programme (WASOP) — a €59 million EU-funded initiative implemented in collaboration with the European Union, Ghana’s Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture, and the Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC). The launch took place in the busy Canoe Basin at the Port of Tema, where leaders of the local fishing community, including the Chief Fishermen, were also represented. WASOP aims to strengthen ocean governance, support innovative and sustainable blue economy development, and enhance marine and coastal resilience across 13 ECOWAS countries, including the six FCWC Member States (Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, and Togo). As an implementing partner, EFCA will contribute its expertise in Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) to help reduce Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing in the region. Building on the successes of the EU-funded PESCAO project, we will work alongside regional partners to promote effective fisheries control operations, information sharing, and joint patrols — ensuring that cooperation and sustainability go hand in hand. #WASOP #BlueEconomy #OceanGovernance #SustainableFisheries #IUUfishing #WeAssist