Illegal fishing hits world's poorest
LONDON, Thursday (Reuters) - Global fish stocks are under serious
threat from illegal fishing, which deprives some of the world's poorest
people of vital food and kills thousands of seabirds each year, two
British reports said on Thursday.
One report, commissioned by the British government, said $4 billion
of fish is caught illegally each year, around a quarter of it off the
coasts of sub-Saharan Africa.
The other study, produced by the independent Environmental Justice
Foundation (EJF), said illegal fishing killed around 100,000 seabirds
each year, many of them endangered albatrosses.
"Illegal fishing has a massive impact on the livelihoods of some of
the poorest people in the world," Minister for International Development
Gareth Thomas said.
Marine and Fisheries Minister Ben Bradshaw said: "Many fisheries
around the world are under threat of collapse through over-fishing, and
illegal fishing is a major cause of this".
The EJF report, "Pirates and Profiteers", said that in some important
fishing grounds, illegal fishing accounted for up to 30 percent of total
catches.
It said some fishermen were skirting regulation by registering their
ships under so-called "flags of convenience" in the knowledge that the
countries involved would not clamp down on illegal fishing.
"Certain countries allow vessels to fly their flag for a few hundred
dollars, and then ignore any offences committed," the EJF said, urging
the international community to act.
"We need the G8 and European Union to take the lead in outlawing
flags of convenience and introducing truly effective controls against
illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing," EJF Director Steve Trent
said. |