MORE than 80 fishing nations met this week at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome, Italy, to hammer out a draft treaty which will allow them to block their ports to boats that are fishing illegally.
鈥淚llegal, unregulated and unreported鈥� fishing, whether from legitimate fishing crews bending quota restrictions or rogue vessels exploiting the high seas, now accounts for some 10 per cent of the global catch.
as food demand grows and as globalised markets allow vessels to sell their catches anywhere in the world, without the knowledge of fisheries authorities. This makes it difficult for countries to protect imperilled fish stocks by limiting catches.
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Under the new treaty, to be finalised this year, fishing vessels will have to notify port authorities when they want to dock, and declare their catch. The treaty will also require authorities to deny docking rights to vessels they think are fishing illegally, or to inspect them and confiscate illegal catches or equipment.
The goal is to track fish 鈥渇rom the net to the plate鈥�, to discourage lucrative illegal catches from entering the market.
