RECOMMENDATION on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Protocol to amend the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas - A9-0089/2020
Retrieved on:
Thursday, April 30, 2020
Background The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) is the body established by the ICCAT Convention for the conservation and management of the species under its purview.
Key Points:
- Background The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) is the body established by the ICCAT Convention for the conservation and management of the species under its purview.
- The Convention entered into force on 21 March 1969 and gave ICCAT the authority to adopt recommendations that are binding on the Contracting Parties.
- As a Contracting Party to the ICCAT Convention, the Union is a Member of ICCAT where it has full participation and voting rights.
- In order to improve its effectiveness and strengthen the conservation and management of species under its jurisdiction, ICCAT Members agreed on the need to amend the Convention.
- On 13 May 2013, the Council authorised the Commission to negotiate, on behalf of the European Union, amendments to the Convention.
- Amendment to the Convention After almost seven years of negotiations, ICCAT parties approved the package of amendments to the ICCAT Convention thereby modernising the text of the ICCAT Convention.
- These amendments bring the Convention in line with those of other regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) around the world.
- The proposed amendments fully respect the mandate received from the Council and are in line with the Common Fisheries Policy, in particular its external dimension.
- The most important change concerning stock management is the broadening of the scope of the Convention as regards to shark conservation and management.