Pawel Swiderek is the deputy head of the IUU Fisheries Policy unit within the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Directorate General (MARE) of the European Commission.

This unit develops and implements the EU’s policy to prevent, deter and eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing and works towards closing the loopholes in international fisheries which allow operators to profit from IUU fishing.

Before taking up his current position, Mr Swiderek was Policy Officer responsible for international trade in Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Directorate General and Policy Officer responsible for preferential rules of origin in the Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union.

Speech Summary

The European Union (EU) has been actively involved in the fight against IUU for more than a decade and promotes a zero-tolerance approach towards IUU fishing activities. It has a clear strategy on combating IUU fishing activities based on simple principles such as risk analysis and health of the fish stocks with the ultimate goal of sustainability, food security and improved welfare of fishing communities.

As of 1 January 2010 the EU transformed the theory into real practice with the implementation of the EU IUU Regulation (Council Regulation N° 1005/2008) by working to prevent illegally caught fish entering the EU market and by urging every country, be it an EU Member State or a third country, to fulfil their obligations as a flag, port, coastal or market State.

The presentation by Mr Pawel Swiderek will focus on the concrete implementation of the EU IUU Regulation, how it has stimulated an active stance in the fight against IUU fishing in all parts of the world, and how the EU/third countries IUU dialogues are contributing to enhance the international standards in fisheries and Ocean governance.