Brussels, 10/06/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 10 June, the European Commission delivered a warning to the Philippines and Papua New Guinea that they risk being identified as countries it considers non-cooperative in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
The European Commission is thus continuing its efforts to combat illegal fishing worldwide. The decision does not, at this stage, entail any measures affecting trade. Both countries are being given a “yellow card” warning and a reasonable time to respond and take measures to rectify the situation. The Commission has also proposed an action plan for each country to address the shortcomings. Should the situation not improve within six months, the EU could take further steps, possibly entailing trade sanctions on fisheries imports, as was done recently with Guinea, Belize and Cambodia, which were included in the list of countries considered not sufficiently active in the fight against illegal fishing (see EUROPE 11045 and 11044).
The Commission argues that the Philippines and Papua New Guinea are not pro-active enough in their efforts to tackle illegal fishing. It identifies concrete shortcomings, such as lack of system of sanctions to deter IUU activities or failures to address deficiencies in monitoring, controlling and surveillance of fisheries. European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Maria Damanaki said: “If half of the Western Pacific's tuna is exported to the EU, we cannot ignore illegal fishing activities in this region. I urge the Philippines and Papua New Guinea to fight this practice which puts the livelihoods of fishermen at risk”.
A formal dialogue procedure with these countries to resolve the identified issues and implement the necessary action plans will now take place.
Today's decision is based on the EU's IUU regulation, which entered into force in 2010. This key instrument in the fight against illegal fishing aims at allowing access to the EU market only to fisheries products that have been certified as legal by the flag state concerned.
In March, based on a proposal from the Commission, the Council of Ministers adopted trade measures against Belize, Cambodia and Guinea for their lack of commitment to tackling the problem of illegal fishing. Fisheries products caught by vessels from these countries are banned from being imported into the EU. Besides the Philippines and Papua New Guinea and the three countries who are subject to the trade ban, eight other third countries have already received formal warnings under the IUU regulation: Fiji, Panama, Sri Lanka, Togo and Vanuatu, in 2012, and Ghana, Curaçao and South Korea, in 2013. Most of these countries have cooperated constructively with the Commission, making significant progress in their fisheries management systems in order to curb illegal fishing. They have developed new legislation and improved their monitoring, control and inspection systems.
The estimated global value of IUU fishing is approximately €10 billion per year, and it is said to account for 19% of the reported value of catches. The Commission says that between 11 and 26 million tonnes of fish are caught illegally a year, which corresponds to at least 15% of world catches.
NGOs pleased
Xavier Pastor, Executive Director of Oceana Europe, said that, by taking this action, the European Commission is confirming its support for the fight against IUU fishing by sending out a strong message that previous EU action does not simply consist of set pieces but part of a long-term policy. He stated that “disrupting this destructive activity (illegal fishing) will help improve the livelihoods of local fishermen and increase fish stocks”. The NGO, Pew, is “pleased” to see the EU continuing its efforts to put a stop to illegal fishing and prevent illegally caught fish reaching the market.
“This is not an exercise in singling out nations but rather an exercise in enforcing effective implementation of international fishing laws and regulations. There must be consequences for those who continually avoid playing by the rules”, said Eszter Hidas, of WWF. (LC)