Commissioner Sinkevičius to present his ‘zero tolerance’ vision on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing

Tomorrow, on Friday 11 December, Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, will co-host the 10th anniversary virtual event of the EU Regulation to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Organised together with several non-governmental organisations from the IUU Coalition, the aim of it will be to discuss the achievements of the regulation. The Commissioner will in addition present his zero-tolerance vision on IUU fishing and the EU’s way forward. Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) is a threat to the environment, to the economy, and to the people who live from and by the sea. It depletes fish stocks, destroys marine habitats, distorts competition and damages coastal communities, not least in developing countries. The United Nations have set the ending of the illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing as one of the Sustainable Development Goals. The EU has been leading the global fight against IUU fishing since many years. In 2010, the EU IUU regulation entered into force aiming to further enable international cooperation and help driving fisheries reform globally. Commissioner Sinkevičius will exchange views with a panel of EU and international actors. To follow the virtual panel debate which will take place from 10:30 to 12:00 CET, go to the live webcast.