EU to fine and blacklist illegal fishing operators
LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - European Union ministers agreed onTuesday to tighten inspections on illegal fishing in EU watersand impose stiff fines on lawbreakers.
The EU has one of the world's largest fishing fleets and isthe top market and importer of fisheries products, worth around14 billion euros (11 billion pounds) a year.
Of that, at least 1.1 billion euros is believed to comefrom illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU), whichexperts say poses a serious risk to marine biodiversity.
EU vessels or any non-EU vessel trying to land a catch atan EU port will, from 2010, be hit with a maximum fine of fivetimes the market value of the catch. For a repeat offence, thatfine is set at eight times the value.
"We have established maximum levels of sanctions to beapplied to fishermen who engage in IUU fishing," EU FisheriesCommissioner Joe Borg told a news conference.
"The scope of the regulation is to cover both EU vesselsand those of third countries, irrespective of where they carryout their fishing," he said. The idea is that non-EU vesselswanting to land illegally would find EU ports shut to them.
Fishing using banned practices -- overly small nets,explosives or squirting chemicals into the water to stun fishwithout killing them, for example -- can cause a high level ofunwanted by-catches, also of other species such as seabirds orturtles, that are then thrown back into the sea.
Other illegal practices include ignoring the need torequire catch licences, quota-busting, entering closed fishingareas, using non-approved tackle and catching undersized fish.
UN STATEMENT
A lot of IUU fishing is done by vessels that use so-calledflags of convenience where scrutiny by local authorities canoften be minimised, officials say.
To tackle this problem, the EU plans to blacklist countriesused as hosts for such flags and any vessels that carry out IUUfishing or are registered under the flag of a country that hasbeen deemed suspect for turning a blind eye to IUU fishing.
The new law also restricts access to EU markets tofisheries products, including processed, that have beencertified as legal by the flag state or exporting stateconcerned.
"The measures allow an efficient certification system thatwill allow us to close EU markets to IUU products," Borg said.
In a similar effort, the United Nations' Food andAgriculture Organisation (FAO) asked donor countries on Tuesdayto put together $1 million (500,000 pounds) to help block portaccess to IUU fishing in developing countries.
Port controls in these countries are often lax, making them"convenient entry points for illegal catches", it said in astatement.
"In light of rising world food prices and growing concernover the wellbeing of some wild fish stocks, we can afford lessthan ever to allow IUU fishing to impact these communities,"FAO Assistant-Director General for Fisheries Ichiro Nomura wasquoted as saying in the statement.
The Rome-based FAO said it has been pushing for a legallybinding international agreement to boost port controls withfunds to be used to set up workshops for inspectors, customsofficers and other authorities in developing countries.
Worldwide, illegal fishing is estimated to be worth 10billion euros a year. Fishermen working illegally can usuallymaintain low operating costs and enjoy substantial profits.
(Additional reporting by Svetlana Kovalyova in Milan)
(Editing by Mariam Karouny)