Publication on the European Union’s Regulation on external fishing authorisations

The article “The EU’s Regulation on the Sustainable Management of External Fishing Fleets: International and European Law Perspectives” by Solène Guggisberg was recently published in the International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law journal.

The article examines the European Union’s (EU) new Regulation on the sustainable management of external fishing fleets. This recent piece of legislation reinforces the framework under which authorisations are granted to EU vessels desiring to fish outside of EU waters and is an improvement on the regulation it replaces. It covers all types of external fishing activities, requires that some conditions regarding sustainability be fulfilled before authorisations can be granted, and provides some institutional control on the actions of Member States, as well as a certain level of transparency. It is also applicable to so-far poorly monitored practices, such as reflagging and chartering. Nonetheless, some further opportunities for improvement were missed, such as in relation to unregulated high seas fishing and the public accessibility of data on beneficial ownership.

The full text of the article can be accessed online.