Brussels, 15/11/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 15 November, the European Commission announced that it was warning eight third countries deemed not to be taking the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing seriously. The countries concerned are Belize, Cambodia, Fiji, Guinea, Panama, Sri Lanka, Togo and Vanuatu. The Commission has noted shortfalls such as inadequate measures taken to palliate failings noted regarding follow up, control and surveillance of fisheries. It suggests corrective measures should be applied to correct this state of affairs. The decision at this stage does not include any trade sanctions. Notification was given to the eight countries concerned which have a reasonable time in which to answer and take measures to remedy the situation. The Commission has also proposed an action plan for each country. If no improvement is noted, the European Union could take other measures likely to include trade measures, such as a ban on selling fishing products to the European Union.
Maria Damanaki, European Fisheries Commissioner, said: “This is not a black list, but a yellow card. We want these countries as partners to combat illegal fishing. We want them to improve their legal and control systems as required by international rules. But we also want to signal to the world that the EU will not tolerate IUU fishing - a criminal activity which undermines the livelihood of fishing communities and depletes fish stocks. It must be eradicated by all means”.
During a press conference, the commissioner said that the EU and the USA are currently the only ones in the world to undertake such a course of action. She added that, by this action, the Commission is initiating a procedure of dialogue and cooperation with an end to correct the situation. “We will then assess each country's progress on an individual basis. The first progress report is expected within 6 months from now. Then we can examine the possibility of further measures”, Damanaki told reporters.
The decision is based on the Union regulation concerning IUU fishing, a regulation which took effect in 2010. This key instrument in the fight against illegal fishing aims to allow access to the EU market only to fisheries products that have been certified as legal by the flag state or the exporting state concerned.
The estimated global value of IUU fishing is approximately €10 billion per year, and is said to account for 19% of the reported value of catches. Between 11 and 26 million tonnes of fish are caught illegally a year, which corresponds to at least 15% of world catches. It is estimated that 16% of all sea-caught fish imported into the EU is caught illegally. (LC/transl.jl)