Slipping through the net - The control and enforcement of fisheries in France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the UK (England)

This report summarises the findings of a series of case studies in England, France, the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain on the control and enforcement of EU fisheries laws. Comparing these four national enforcement frameworks, we concluded that:

• There is a lack of harmonisation in sanctioning systems
• Too few sanctions are being imposed, and when sanctions are imposed, they are set at levels that are too low to actually be deterrent
• All have delayed the introduction of key EU requirements on the control of fisheries into their national systems
• All of these enforcement systems lack transparency, making it difficult for stakeholders to assess whether national obligations under the EU regulations are being met.

The report concludes with a summary of the implications of these shortfalls at EU level and what they mean in terms of the current evaluation of the Control Regulation, and its potential revision.

Read the country case studies:

• England
• France
• Ireland
• Poland
• The Netherlands
• Spain
• Italy