The EU 2010 control campaign on bluefin tuna   
 
The Community Fisheries Control Agency has organised the pooling and deployment of national means for control, surveillance and inspection both at sea and ashore, bringing together seven Member states involved in the control of the blue fin tuna fishery - Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain, through its Joint Deployment Plan (JDP). The Community Fishery Control Agency (CFCA) ensures operational coordination of control, inspection and surveillance of fishing activities under the JDP for the bluefin tuna fishery in the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Atlantic waters. The campaign is running until the end of the year.

In 2010, the fishing period for purse seine vessels which are carrying out the bulk of the fishing activities, was reduced from two months in 2009 to one month in 2010. During this season, the CFCA hosted national coordinators from Cyprus, France, Italy, Malta and Spain on its premises, as well as four full-time staff members of the CFCA who were operative 7 days a week. This multinational team is coordinating the control, inspection and surveillance activities of the national means pooled by Member States concerned under the JDP.

Member States concerned made a substantial effort in pooling their means to control and inspect bluefin tuna fishing activities. In addition, the CFCA chartered an EU inspection vessel on behalf of the Member States concerned, called the "Jean Charcot". This vessel served as an international platform for inspection and surveillance of fishing activities by EU vessels and third country vessels from contracting Parties of the ICCAT. The "Jean Charcot" had inspectors on board from all Member States concerned and contributed in this way to a uniform and effective application of the ICCAT measures. The CFCA is coordinating the deployment of:

High Seas inspection Vessels 11
Coastal inspection Vessels 16
Surveillance Airplanes/Helicopters 9

Up to 30 June 2010 these means were active for 189 days at sea (including the "Jean Charcot" which did 40 days), whilst 89 surveillance flights were carried out, for a total of 266 hours. Additionally, 81 days of ashore inspections were coordinated by the CFCA. 123 days at sea were carried out by joint inspection teams. In total, 420 inspections have been implemented during 270 activity days in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean within the framework of the 2010 bluefin tuna JDP.

Concerning apparent infringements, the number of vessels/operators where one or more apparent infringements (AINs) were detected in 2010 was 48. This means that 11,5% of the total inspections resulted in the drawing up of the production of a specific infringement report. These reports have been transmitted to the respective flag states who must investigate and, where appropriate, prosecute those responsible for the infringements detected.
According to the European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Maria Damanaki, "this campaign is crucial for the future wellbeing of fish and fisherman".