Brussels, 26/11/2013 (Agence Europe) - As it had undertaken to do (EUROPE 10958), the European Commission decided, on Tuesday 26 November, to clamp down on the laxness of Belize, Cambodia and Guinea-Conakry as regards checks on fishing activities. If the Council of Ministers of the EU agrees to include these three countries on a blacklist, this will mean that the European market will be closed off to all fisheries products caught by boats from these countries.
"The Commission has today adopted two decisions. Both decisions aim at ensuring the fish we eat in Europe is legally fished. We strictly control our own fishermen. But imports represent 65% of our consumption. The rules against illegal fishing aim at ensuring that imported fish complies with commonly agreed international rules", Ms Damanaki said when presenting the measures taken to reinforce the fight against illegal fishing to the press.
The first decision identifies Belize, Cambodia and Guinea as non-cooperating countries in the fight against illegal fishing. "We had already pre-warned them in November last year. Despite a formal dialogue, they have not made satisfactory progress. The heart of the problem, for each of the three, is the lack of effective control on their fleet. How can they claim in these circumstances that the fish caught under their flag or in their coastal waters is sustainable", asked Ms Damanaki. According to the Commission, these three countries have still not addressed structural problems and have failed to show real commitment to tackling the problem of illegal fishing.
The decision made regarding Belize, Cambodia and Guinea gives the member states an additional tool to verify and, if necessary, refuse suspicious imports of fisheries products from these countries. The Commission encourages a coordinated approach to this. At the same time, the Commission has put to the Council a proposal to add these countries to the list of non-cooperating countries. Once the text is adopted, catches made by fishing vessels flying the flag of these countries will be banned for import to the EU and vessels of the European Union will no longer be allowed to fish in their waters. Other forms of cooperation, such as joint fishing operations and fishing agreements with these countries, will also be banned.
Ms Damanaki explains that her aim is not to put these countries on the blacklist, but to ensure that improvements are made on the ground. This approach has already borne fruit, as five of the eight countries which were shown the yellow card in November 2012 have made tangible progress (Fiji, Panama, Sri Lanka, Togo and Vanuatu). The Commission explains that these countries "are working to adopt new legislation and have improved their monitoring, control and inspection systems. As a consequence, dialogue with these countries has been extended until the end of February 2014 and their progress will be assessed next spring".
Yellow card for South Korea, Ghana and Curaçao
Second decision: the Commission has shown the yellow card to three countries: South Korea, Ghana and Curaçao. These warnings focus on our main area of concern regarding the fight against illegal fishing: the West African coast, Ms Damanaki stated. "We hear news every week about pirate vessels for instance in the Gulf of Guinea. We know how harmful this organised crime can be for coastal communities in developing countries", the Commissioner stressed. The Commissioner will start talks with these three countries (South Korea, Ghana and Curaçao) to try to resolve the issues. It will carry out a further assessment of the situation in six months' time, before possibly taking further steps. (LC/transl.fl)