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| India among 90 nations to curb illegal marine fishing |
| Surinder Sud / New Delhi Sep 07, 2009, 01:17 IST |
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Over 90 countries, including India, have agreed to a draft of the first-ever global treaty to curb illegal marine fishing that is disturbing the fisheries’ profile and ecological balance of the oceans and hurting the livelihood of small fishermen across the world.
The treaty will bar the vessels engaged in illicit fishing from landing at the ports, thus blocking the illegally caught fish from entering the markets. This is expected to serve as a major disincentive for unlawful and unregulated fishing.
Called “Agreement on port state measures to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing”, the treaty has been brokered by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). It will now go to the FAO’s Council in September and the full-fledged FAO conference attended by agriculture and fishing ministers of the member countries in November for final adoption.
The pact will come into force 30 days after its ratification by at least 25 countries.
Unregulated fishing, resulting in over-exploitation of some commercially important fish species, has caused heavy depletion of their stocks in seas. Several rare species of fish and other forms of marine fauna are now facing the threat of extinction due to illicit and unreported fishing. The sufferers are the small fishermen who rely on fishing in coastal areas for their livelihood.
The accord commits countries to regularly inspect the fishing vessels. It also outlines a set of standards and guidelines for such inspections.
Reviews of ships’ papers, surveys of their fishing gear (equipment), examination of fish catches and checking of vessels’ records can often reveal if they have engaged in unlawful fishing and have caught the regulated or protected fish species.
The port authorities have been mandated to deny permission to such ships to land at the ports by showing them red flags. The authorities will also be required to make this information public for the other ports to know it. The countries to which the concerned ships belong will be obliged to take the follow-up action against them.
Though the stipulated measures are deemed the most cost-effective weapons in combat against illegal and ecologically harmful fishing, their success will depend on how well they are enforced.
The accord binds the signatories to adequately equip and train the port authorities and inspectors to carry out the inspections and check the cargoes and records of the fishing vessels.
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