Half of marine life wiped out in just 40 years, says WWF

Populations of marine mammals, birds, reptiles and fish have halved in the last four decades, environmental NGO the Worldwide Wildlife Fund (WWF) warned on Wednesday.

South China sea fishing ban lifted

Around 9,000 fishing boats are ready to set sail from south China's Hainan Province as a seasonal fishing ban in the South China Sea was lifted on Saturday.

FISHERIES CONTROL: PORTUGAL, FRANCE, SPAIN, ITALY, LATVIA AND MALTA NOW PLAYING BY COMMON RULES

To achieve sustainable fishing, the revised rules of the Common Fisheries Policy need to be fully respected. But how can we ensure that they are in practice?

Well, by efficient and harmonised control systems.

In a spirit of subsidiarity, fisheries control means are agreed at EU level, but need to be concretely implemented on the ground by national authorities. Therefore, to guarantee a level playing field between fishermen, the European Commission checks how Member States implement their common obligations. It also provides Member States with support, where necessary, so that their control systems meet the European requirements.