European fisheries commissioner Costas Kadis on Monday praised the European Union’s management of its fisheries during a trip to Limassol.

He highlighted the work of the European fisheries control agency (EFCA), founded in 2006, with one of its patrol boats, the Ocean Sentinel, parked at the DP World terminal in Cyprus’ second city.

Those patrol boats, he said, “symbolise mutual trust and the EU’s unwavering commitment to the protection of marine resources, through joint development plans, within the framework of the common fisheries policies”.

He said that in the almost 20 years since the EFCA was created, “we have seen an organisation which has profoundly influenced fisheries management across Europe [and] played a vital role in promoting common standards for control, inspection, and surveillance”.

“The EFCA’s vigilance in the Mediterranean has played a crucial role in combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, particularly by third countries, thus significantly contributing to the sustainability of vital marine ecosystems,” he said.

Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou joined Kadis in Limassol and highlighted what she described as Cyprus’ “strategic role … in protecting Europe’s marine resources and ensuring their sustainable management”.

“The presence of the EFCA patrol vessel the Ocean Sentinel in Cyprus reinforces the message of our joint effort to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing and to protect marine ecosystems. This vessel symbolises Europe’s action, surveillance, and commitment to sustainable fisheries,” she said.

EFCA executive director Susan Steele, meanwhile, said that the “sustainability of fisheries in the Mediterranean sea … is vital for the EU”.

She added that the EFCA had carried out a total of 33,360 inspections last year, and that this year, inspections “continue to be carried out smoothly with very good participation from member states”.

The EFCA, previously known as the community fisheries control agency (CFCA), coordinates the EU’s member states’ national operational activities in the fisheries sector and assists member states in their application of the common fisheries policy.

It is based in the city of Vigo, on the Atlantic coast of the Spanish autonomous community of Galicia.