The cod stocks in the North Sea and adjacent waters are subject to recovery measures aiming at bringing back the stock to safe biological limits. In 2008, the Commission established a specific control and inspection programme for the recovery of cod stocks, which sets out the objectives, priorities and benchmarks for control and inspection by Member States adopted by the Commission. The EFCA executes a Joint Deployment Plan which gives effect to the specific control and inspection programme for the recovery of cod stocks. This is a continuation of an innovative and coordinated effort to help Member States to combat over-fishing and to save endangered cod stocks.

The Joint Deployment Plan (JDP) for the North Sea pools resources (inspectors, control vessels, aircraft, etc), from seven coastal Member States, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom, and uses them to ensure more effective and uniform control of fishing activities. Member States concentrate their inspections and surveillance activities on fishing vessels using gear types that are likely to catch cod, either as a targeted fishery or as by-catch. Such actions are undertaken on the basis of risk analysis. There are also inspections of transport and marketing of cod. Inspection teams consist of Community Fishery Inspectors from different nationalities; the inspection vessels and surveillance aircraft are pooled from different Member States. Inspection vessels are able to enter the fishing zones of other Member States to carry out inspections on board all fishing vessels present.

The EFCA oversees the implementation of the JDP in close collaboration with the contact persons of the Member States concerned. Member States take turns to be responsible for the running of joint campaigns; for this purpose, they establish a Coordination Centre in Charge, to which the Coordinators of the Agency give on-the-spot assistance in order to deploy the available assets in the most efficient way. This centre is assisted by other coordination centres in the participating Member States.

Before the introduction of JDPs, there was some limited cooperation between certain Member States bordering the North Sea.