EFCA adopts 2024 Annual Report showing near-total work completion, key inspection gains, and stronger EU fisheries control coordination
The European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) has formally adopted its 2024 Annual Report, revealing the agency completed 99.5% of its planned work programme alongside full budget execution, according to decisions by its Administrative Board meeting in Vigo.
EFCA Executive Director Susan Steele marked the moment, saying:
“Over the past 20 years, we have witnessed the evolution of control and inspection practices, and EFCA’s involvement has led to better and more harmonised coordination between Member States and better inspection methods including through the common use of control means (OPVs, RPAS, aerial surveillance) and control technologies.”
In 2024, EFCA coordinated seven Joint Deployment Plans (JDPs) across the North Atlantic, Baltic, Mediterranean, and Indian Ocean regions, supporting national authorities in enforcing Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) rules. This cooperation produced 45,734 coordinated inspections, leading to 4,823 suspected infringements.
Image: EFCA
Notably, EFCA launched a new JDP in the Indian Ocean last May, focused on EU purse seine vessels landing tropical tuna. The agency also spearheaded 17 specific actions and nine campaigns in high-risk fisheries under regional risk assessments.
EFCA’s chartered offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) conducted 442 inspections, detecting 203 suspected violations, and the agency organised 80 training events reaching over 2,600 officials, including more than 100 from non-EU countries.
Beyond inspections, EFCA advanced key projects such as updating the Practical Handbook on Coast Guard cooperation, completing a strategic study on the weighing process of fishery products, and expanding electronic monitoring (REM) pilots. In international work, EFCA supported fisheries monitoring improvements in Algeria and North Africa and intensified cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA) and EU SatCen under the Copernicus programme.
The Administrative Board, which includes one representative per EU Member State plus six from the European Commission, governs EFCA’s operations. As the agency moves into its third decade, EFCA emphasised its value in boosting compliance, reducing illegal fishing, and creating a fairer EU-wide playing field for the fishing industry.
Source: EFCA
