Brussels, 13/02/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 13 February, the European Commission announced that it had given the Philippines, Papua-New Guinea and Ghana an extra six months to take the measures required to eradicate illegal, undeclared and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
In 2014, these three countries were issued with warnings as their legislation did not do enough to tackle and punish offenders (see EUROPE 11097). The Commission has decided to give the countries a bit more time so that they can avoid any commercial measures on the part of the EU (import bans on fisheries products from these countries).
The Commission takes the view that the Philippines, Papua-New Guinea and Ghana have made “credible” progress towards fulfilling their international obligations. They have amended their legal framework, improved control and monitoring systems and are taking a proactive role in complying with international rules. “The countries still need more time to finalise the adoption and implementation of these measures and will now have six months to do so”, the Commission states. The EU is working “closely” with the three countries to help them make the necessary changes.
The Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, Karmenu Vella, welcomes the efforts made by these countries. However, he points out that unless they significantly improve their legislation on IUU fishing in the next six months, the EU will have to take other measures, “including trade sanctions on fisheries imports, such as those taken against Guinea, Belize, Cambodia and Sri Lanka”.
In March 2014, on the basis of a Commission proposal, the Council adopted commercial measures against Belize, Cambodia and Guinea over their lack of commitment to tackling illegal fishing. The Council adopted similar measures against Sri Lanka in January 2015. The commercial measures against Belize were revoked in December 2014, due to a significant improvement in fisheries governance in this country. Fisheries products caught by the vessels of countries identified as non-cooperating cannot be imported to the EU. (Lionel Changeur)