22026D1074

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Document 22026D1074

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Recommendation No 1/ 2026 of the Specialised Committee on Fisheries established by Article 8(1)(q) of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part, of 22 April 2026 as regards a joint EU-UK arrangement on monitoring, control and surveillance [2026/1074]

PUB/2026/483

OJ L, 2026/1074, 19.5.2026, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reco/2026/1074/oj (BG, ES, CS, DA, DE, ET, EL, EN, FR, GA, HR, IT, LV, LT, HU, MT, NL, PL, PT, RO, SK, SL, FI, SV)

ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reco/2026/1074/oj

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2026/1074

19.5.2026

RECOMMENDATION No 1/ 2026 OF THE SPECIALISED COMMITTEE ON FISHERIES ESTABLISHED BY ARTICLE 8(1)(Q) OF THE TRADE AND COOPERATION AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE EUROPEAN ATOMIC ENERGY COMMUNITY, OF THE ONE PART, AND THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND, OF THE OTHER PART,

of 22 April 2026

as regards a joint EU-UK arrangement on monitoring, control and surveillance [2026/1074]

THE SPECIALISED COMMITTEE ON FISHERIES,

Having regard to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part (‘the Agreement’), and in particular to paragraph 1(e) and (f) and 2(b) of Article 508,

Whereas:

(1)

Taking into account that Article 497(2) of the Agreement provides that the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the European Union (each a ‘Party’, together ‘the Parties’) should take all necessary measures to ensure compliance by its vessels with the rules applicable to those vessels in the other Party's waters.

(2)	Noting that Article 508 of the Agreement sets out in a non-exhaustive manner the functions and powers of the Specialised Committee on Fisheries.

(3)

Recognising that paragraphs 1(e) and (f) of Article 508 of the Agreement provide that the Specialised Committee on Fisheries may consider approaches to the collection of data for science and fisheries management purposes and the sharing of such data (including information relevant to monitoring, controlling and enforcing compliance), as well as measures to ensure compliance with the applicable rules, including joint control, monitoring and surveillance programmes and the exchange of data to facilitate monitoring uptake of fishing opportunities and control and enforcement.

(4)

Underlining the importance, for operational cooperation on fisheries control, of procedures relating to mutual assistance requests, exchange of relevant operational information, risk management, exchanges of officials, joint training and seminars for fisheries inspectors, annual reporting and planning of control activities.

(5)

Bearing in mind the shared view of the Parties that illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing constitutes a serious threat to the sustainable exploitation of living aquatic resources and that the cooperation between control authorities is a key measure to fight, prevent and eliminate IUU fishing.

(6)	Acknowledging that this arrangement is without prejudice to the Parties’ controls, inspections and cooperation carried out under their systems to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing of vessels in respect of fishing vessels or fishery products outside the scope of the Agreement.

(7)	Recalling the Parties’ longstanding cooperation on control, monitoring and surveillance.

(8)	Reminding that the exchange and processing of commercial and personal data will be carried out in accordance with the rules on confidentiality and personal data protection of the Parties.

(9)	Recognising that Article 508(2)(b) of the Agreement provides that the Specialised Committee on Fisheries may adopt recommendations in relation to Article 508 (1) of the Agreement.

(10)	Recognising the need to adopt technical procedures to facilitate the cooperation of the Parties in monitoring, control and surveillance.

HAS ADOPTED THIS RECOMMENDATION:

Paragraph 1

The Specialised Committee on Fisheries recommends that the Parties put in place operational procedures and establish contact points for the cooperation of the Parties in monitoring, control and surveillance. The arrangement covers the fishing activities by fishing vessels of each Party in waters of the other Party under the scope of the Agreement.

Paragraph 2

For the purposes of this recommendation the following definitions apply:

a.	‘flag Party’ means a Party in its capacity as a flag State;

b.	‘coastal Party’ means a Party in its capacity as a coastal State;

c.	‘coastal Member State’ means a European Union Member State in its capacity as coastal State;

d.	‘flag Member State’ means a European Union Member State in its capacity as flag State;

e.	‘EFCA’ means the European Fisheries Control Agency established by Regulation (EU) 2019/473 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 March 2019 on the European Fisheries Control Agency;

f.	‘NEAFC’ means the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission;

g.	‘FMC’ means an operational centre established by the competent authorities of the Parties and equipped with computer hardware and software enabling automatic data reception, processing and electronic data transmission;

Paragraph 3

The Specialised Committee on Fisheries recommends that the Parties adopt the procedures described in the Annexes to this recommendation covering the following areas:

a.	Mutual assistance requests and exchange of operational information and data for fisheries control and enforcement purposes (Annex 1)

b.	Exchange of information on inspections, inspection and surveillance reports and enforcement proceedings (Annex 2)

c.	Cooperation on risk assessment and risk management (Annex 3)

d.	Exchange of officials in an observer capacity (Annex 4)

e.	Inspection and surveillance in waters of the other Party (Annex 5)

f.	Inspection and surveillance by officials of one Party from means of the other Party (Annex 6)

g.	Cooperation on Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) and other technologies (Annex 7)

h.	Joint seminars and training (Annex 8)

i.	Annual review and reporting (Annex 9)

Paragraph 4

For the purposes of this recommendation Parties agree to the following on the exchange and processing of data and information

a.	Each Party will treat shared commercial and personal data in accordance with its respective rules on confidentiality and personal data protection.

b.	This arrangement is without prejudice to the automatic electronic data exchanges of positional and fisheries data required by the legislation of the coastal Party or by the Agreement.

Signed on 22 April 2026, London.

For the Specialised Committee on Fisheries

The Co-Chairs

Eva Maria CARBALLEIRA FERNANDEZ

Robbie FISHER

ANNEX 1

Mutual assistance requests and exchange of operational information and data for fisheries control and enforcement purposes

The Parties (in their capacity as flag Party or coastal Party) may request of each other operational information or mutual assistance relating to fisheries monitoring, control, surveillance and enforcement, including risk assessment.

Requests for mutual assistance and operational information will contain sufficient information to enable the requested Party to reply to the request (e.g. fishing vessel identification, relevant fishing trips, landing date, inspection dates, etc), subject to each Party’s data laws.

The Parties will designate and share a list of contact points’ details for the purpose of requests for mutual assistance or requests for operational information. The Parties will inform each other via e-mail without delay of any changes in the designated contact points.

Requests and replies will be sent by email by the contact points in accordance with the following procedures:

a.	Correspondence addressed to the European Union will be sent from UKFMC@gov.scot to the relevant flag and/or coastal Member State(s) point(s) with MCS@defra.gov.uk and the European Commission (MARE-UK@ec.europa.eu) and EFCA (EFCA-UK@efca.europa.eu) functional mailboxes in copy;

Correspondence addressed to the United Kingdom will be sent from the relevant flag and / or coastal Member State(s), EFCA or the Commission contact points to UKFMC@gov.scot with MCS@defra.gov.uk, the European Commission (MARE-UK@ec.europa.eu) and EFCA (EFCA-UK@efca.europa.eu) functional mailboxes and relevant flag and / or coastal Member State in copy

The Parties are not bound to grant each other assistance where that would prejudice their legal systems, public policy, security or other fundamental interests.

Where a request cannot be complied with, the reply will indicate the reasons.

ANNEX 2

Exchange of information on inspections, inspection and surveillance reports and enforcement proceedings

The exchange of port inspection reports relating to fishing vessels of one Party in ports of the other will be carried out in accordance with the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) procedures where relevant.

The Parties will exchange summarised information of inspections and infringements detected in their own waters and relating to fishing vessels flagged to the other Party, at least on an annual basis as part of the annual report referred to in Annex 9, paragraph 1.

In cases where no infringements were reported, the inspecting coastal Party will submit a copy of an inspection or surveillance report to the flag Party only upon request and transmitted in accordance with the procedures referred to in Annex 1, paragraph 4.

In case of infringements detected relating to fishing vessels of the other Party which are not covered under point 1, the inspecting coastal Party will submit to the flag Party’s contact point(s) established in Annex 1, paragraph 3 a copy of the inspection or surveillance report as soon as reasonably practicable and in accordance with the following procedures:

a.	The inspecting authority of the United Kingdom will send the report to the flag Member State contact point, with the European Commission (MARE-UK@ec.europa.eu) and EFCA (EFCA-UK@efca.europa.eu) functional mailboxes in copy.

b.	The inspecting authority of the European Union will send the report to UKFMC@gov.scot with the European Commission (MARE-UK@ec.europa.eu) and EFCA (EFCA-UK@efca.europa.eu) functional mailboxes in copy.

Where the coastal Party intends to transfer the proceedings relating to the infringements referred to in paragraph 4 of this Annex, the coastal Party will:

a.	Explicitly indicate its intention to transfer the proceedings to the flag Party; and

b.	Forward any supporting documentation and evidence available in addition to the inspection or surveillance report.

The Party carrying out the proceedings relating to the reported infringements referred to in paragraphs 4 and 5 of this Annex will inform the other Party about the investigations carried out, the results of the proceedings and the enforcement actions adopted including any allocation of points to the vessel or master within the annual report referred to in Annex 9, paragraph 1.

ANNEX 3

Cooperation on risk assessment and risk management

The Parties may exchange relevant experience and may share a summary of their methodologies for risk assessment and risk management on an annual basis as referred to in Annex 9, paragraph 2.

The cooperation between the Parties on risk assessment may include, inter alia:

a.	Coordinated risk assessment for priority threats, fisheries, and/or fleet segments;

b.	Joint risk mitigation actions, including specific actions for priority fleet segments, areas or periods;

c.	Sharing information on planned deployments with a view to optimise the use of inspection means, including if relevant, deployments also covering the NEAFC Regulatory Area;

d.	Sharing risk assessment output data, such as target vessel lists and the reason for the inclusion on the list, and operational level data for at sea inspections.

The elements of cooperation on risk assessment referred to in paragraphs 2(a) and 2(b) of this Annex will be discussed and approved during the annual review referred to in Annex 9.

The exchange of information referred to in paragraph 2(c) will be carried out through the European Commission (MARE-UK@ec.europa.eu) and EFCA (EFCA-UK@efca.europa.eu) functional mailboxes in the case of the European Union, and through UKFMC@gov.scot in the case of the United Kingdom.

The procedures established in Annex 1, paragraph 4 will apply to the sharing of risk assessment data referred to in paragraph 2(d) of this Annex.

ANNEX 4

Exchanges of officials in an observer capacity

The Parties may organise exchanges of officials with a view to sharing experience and identifying best practices on monitoring, control and surveillance at sea, in port and post-landing

The planning of such exchanges will be organised in the context of the annual review referred to in in Annex 9, Paragraph 1, or on an ad-hoc basis. Such planning will cover the dates of such exchanges, location, contact points for each mission, safety training and equipment requirements for visiting officials.

The visiting official(s) of a Party will have an observer capacity during all activities in the waters or the territory of the hosting Party unless the official(s) is operating as an inspector as provided under Annex 6.

The operational contacts of the hosting Party will hold daily briefings with the visiting official(s) regarding the expected activities of the mission, both before and after each mission.

The visiting official(s) will document the observed control, inspection and surveillance practices in a mission report, which will be sent to the hosting Party for comments.

The mission report will be approved by both Parties within two months of the hosting Party receiving the mission report.

A summary of the mission report will be included in the annual report referred to in Annex 9, Paragraph 1.

The Parties may establish detailed guidelines for the exchange of officials and templates for the mission reports.

ANNEX 5

Inspection and surveillance in waters of the other Party

Upon request and with prior authorisation by the coastal Party and without prejudice to the primary responsibility of the coastal Party, the flag Party may carry out inspection and surveillance on its fishing vessels in waters of the other Party outside its territorial waters.

The request referred to in paragraph 1 of this Annex will include the following minimum information:

a.	Identification details of the inspection or surveillance platform craft and of the fisheries inspectors on board, including contact details;

b.	Estimated date and time of the deployment in waters of the coastal Party;

c.	Planned area of operations; and

d.	Objectives and priorities of the deployment.

The requests by the inspecting flag Party and the replies from the coastal Party will be sent via:

a.	in the case of the European Union, via a European Commission functional mailbox (MARE-UK@ec.europa.eu);

b.	in the case of the United Kingdom, via the following mail: UKFMC@gov.scot with MCS@defra.gov.uk in copy.

Following a deployment in waters of the other Party in accordance with this Annex, the inspecting flag Party will transmit to the coastal Party when reasonably practical a summary of the inspection and surveillance activities carried out, including following information:

a.	Identification details of the inspectors and inspection platform;

b.	Period and area of deployment;

c.	Fishing vessels’ details and date, time and position of the inspections and sightings carried out during the deployment; and

d.	Details of the infringements reported.

Where an inspection or sighting report has been drawn up during a deployment in waters of the other Party in accordance with this Annex, the inspecting flag Party will without delay transmit a copy of the inspection report to the coastal Party using the procedure established in Annex 2, paragraph 4.

A summary of the inspection and surveillance activities carried out in accordance with this Annex will be included in the annual report referred to in Annex 9.

Upon request and with prior authorisation by the coastal Party, the flag Party may carry out inspection on its fishing vessels in ports of the other Party. In the case of an inspection on the territory of the coastal Party, the flag Party inspectors not appointed by that coastal Party may only carry out such inspections in the presence of an official appointed by that coastal Party in charge of the inspection, or with the agreement of that coastal Party. The procedures set out in this Annex will apply, mutatis mutandis.

ANNEX 6

Inspection and surveillance by officials of one Party from the inspection platform of the other Party

If during a deployment in waters of the other Party authorised in accordance with Annex 5, the inspection platform is carrying on board an official appointed by the coastal Party, the official appointed by the coastal Party may carry out inspection and surveillance activities on vessels in the coastal Party’s waters from the inspection platform, provided that both Parties approve this:

a.	During the planning of the mission relating to the exchange of official(s); or

b.	Following an ad hoc approval by the Parties using the procedure established in Annex 5, paragraph 3 mutatis mutandis.

A summary of the inspection and surveillance activities carried out by officials of a Party using inspection means of the other Party will be included in the annual report referred to in Annex 9.

ANNEX 7

Cooperation on Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) and other technologies

The Parties aim to achieve interoperable requirements for the use of REM systems and other technologies.

ANNEX 8

Joint seminars and training

The Parties may organise trainings for inspectors with the aim of exchanging best practices and monitoring, control and inspection methodologies.

ANNEX 9

Annual review and reporting

The Parties will alternately produce an annual report on the joint cooperation on control and enforcement to be sent to the Specialised Committee on Fisheries by 1 April each year, with the first report to be produced by the UK by 1 April 2027.

Through the annual review and report the Parties may:

a.	Review the procedures for the issues provided for in Annexes 1 to 9 (inclusive), with a view to adopting any changes necessary;

b.	Exchange experience and a summary of risk assessment methodologies and management, referred to in Annex 3;

c.	Consider cooperation on coordinated risk assessment for jointly agreed priority threats, fisheries, and/or fleet segments, referred to in Annex 3;

d.	Consider joint risk mitigation actions, including specific actions for priority fleet segments, areas or periods referred to in Annex 3;

e.	Share information on planned deployments with a view to optimise the use of inspection means, including if relevant, deployments also covering the NEAFC Regulatory Area, referred to in Annex 3;

f.	Establish detailed guidelines for the exchanges of officials and templates for the mission report; referred to in Annex 4;

g.	Plan the exchanges of officials in an observer capacity, referred to in Annex 4;

h.	Plan the organisation of joint seminars and training, referred to in Annex 8;

i.	Review and summarise the inspection and enforcement activities by the Parties of the previous calendar year;

j.	Consider and review the template of the annual report referred to in paragraph 1 of this Annex;

k.	Propose changes to these arrangements to the Specialised Committee on Fisheries.

The report may also include:

A summary of the monitoring, inspection and surveillance activities carried out by each inspecting coastal Party regarding vessels of the other Party during the previous calendar year, including information on the state of play of the enforcement proceedings for each individual infringement until the case is closed;

b.	A summary of mutual assistance requests referred to in Annex 1 corresponding to the previous calendar year;

c.	A summary of exchanges on risk assessment and management referred to in Annex 3, paragraph 1

d.	A summary of approved risk assessment and / or mitigation actions for the ongoing calendar year in relation to the points in Annex 3, paragraphs (2)(a) and (b);

e.	A summary of the information on deployments and risk assessment output data shared during the previous calendar year in relation to Annex 3, paragraphs 2(c) and (d);

f.	A summary of mission reports carried during the previous calendar year and of the planned missions for the ongoing year, as referred to in Annex 4;

g.	A summary of activities carried out in accordance with the procedures for inspection and surveillance in the waters of the other Party set out in Annex 5 during the previous calendar year;

h.	A summary of joint seminars and training events carried out during the previous calendar year;

i.	A summary of discussions and recommendations relating to the cooperation on REM as referred to in Annex 7;

j.	A review of implementation of these arrangements during the previous calendar year;

k.	Recommendations to revise these arrangements; and

l.	Any other aspects relevant for the implementation of these arrangements.

The Parties may agree to meet in relation to any of the tasks in preparation of the annual report.

ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reco/2026/1074/oj

ISSN 1977-0677 (electronic edition)

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