Posted on 24 March 2014
| Brussels, Belgium: Today, four leading
environmental groups – Environmental Justice
Foundation (EJF), Oceana, The Pew Charitable
Trusts and WWF have welcomed a decision
by the EU Fisheries Council to place trade
restrictions on Belize, Cambodia, and Guinea
for failing to cooperate in fighting Illegal,
Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing.
The decision means EU member states are
now required to ban the import of fish from
Belize, Cambodia, and Guinea and ensure
that EU fishing vessels do not operate in
the waters of these nations.
In addition to welcoming
the ban’s approval by the EU’s 28 fisheries
ministers, and praising the Commissioner
for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Maria
Damanaki, for her leadership, the NGOs are
calling for greater transparency in the
way the EU evaluates third countries’ efforts
to fight illegal fishing. They are also
calling on the European Commission to close
a loophole that allows non-EU vessels fishing
in the banned countries’ waters to continue
exporting their catches to the EU, and to
work with EU member states to strengthen
efforts to keep illegally-caught fish off
the dinner plates of European consumers.
The three countries
were initially amongst eight countries identified
by the European Commission in November 2012
for inadequate monitoring of their fishing
fleets, neglecting to impose sanctions on
illegal fishing operators, and failing to
develop robust fisheries laws. In 2013 the
Commission announced that Fiji, Panama,
Sri Lanka, Togo, and Vanuatu had improved
but that Belize, Cambodia and Guinea had
not. Today’s Council decision confirms the
Commission recommendation that the countries
be formally blacklisted or “red-carded”
and prevented from trading fish with the
EU.
IUU fishing depletes
fish stocks, damages marine ecosystems,
puts legitimate fishers at an unfair disadvantage
and jeopardises the livelihoods of some
of the world’s most vulnerable communities.
IUU fishing is estimated to cost between
7 and 17 billion euro annually, representing
11 to 26 million tonnes of catch. The EU
IUU Regulation aims to deprive market access
for illegal fish, by requiring “catch certificates”
for imports into the EU, as well as banning
the entry of fish from countries and vessels
involved in illegal fishing.
A second round of “yellow
cards” was issued by the European Commission
in November 2013, with Curaçao, Ghana,
and South Korea warned that they could also
face the same set of trade measures if they
do not cooperate in fighting IUU fishing.
South Korean vessels have been widely documented
fishing illegally in West Africa, causing
significant impacts on coastal fishing communities
and the marine environment. The organisations
are calling on the EU to continue to show
the same determination and resoluteness
towards other countries that repeatedly
fail to observe the rules.
Steve Trent, Executive
Director of Environmental Justice Foundation
said:
“Closing the world’s most valuable seafood
market to countries that do not cooperate
in fighting illegal fishing is a crucial
step, and we applaud the EU for taking this
decision. Whilst it is not perfect, the
EU IUU Regulation is clearly the world’s
leading piece of legislation in this field
– there are already signs that coastal communities
in West Africa are seeing the benefits of
the EU’s action towards offending vessels
and flag States.”
Maria José Cornax,
Fisheries Campaign Manager at Oceana said:
“The EU's efforts to tackle IUU fishing
worldwide have truly materialised today
with this unprecedented step. We hope that
fishing nations around the world are looking
today at the EU's leadership, and are ready
to follow this newly opened path towards
the definitive elimination of IUU fishing."
Tony Long, Director,
Ending Illegal Fishing Project at The Pew
Charitable Trusts said:
“The Council, by adopting this red list
on non-compliant countries, has achieved
a milestone in fighting illegal fishing.
This shows that the European Union is serious
about confronting countries that do not
stop illegal fishing or continue to trade
in illegally caught fish.”
Eszter Hidas, EU Policy
Lead for WWF's Transparent Seas Project
said:
"WWF supports the EU's efforts to impose
sanctions where necessary to ensure that
marine ecosystems and livelihoods are not
damaged by illegal and irresponsible fishing
practices. There must be consequences for
persistent inaction after repeated warnings.
We expect that Belize, Cambodia and Guinea
will now take immediate action to impose
effective fishing regulations.”
+ More
Congolese protesters
demand cancelation of Soco oil permits
Posted on 27 March 2014
| Goma, DRC – Over 50 protestors assembled
peacefully in the street Monday holding
banners proclaiming “no to oil” in Virunga
National Park. UK company Soco International
PLC says it will begin seismic testing in
the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
World Heritage Site next month.
Activists argue that
oil exploitation could pose a threat to
essential fishing and agricultural jobs,
and could enflame conflicts in eastern DRC
where peace has been achieved only recently.
Community groups appealed
for greater investment to unlock the tourism
potential of Africa’s most biodiverse protected
area, home to critically endangered mountain
gorillas, as well as for assistance to bolster
the fishery and agricultural industries.
“Virunga National Park
could be an engine for sustainable economic
development for the country and future generations,”
civil society groups said in a written statement.
One woman who sells
fish caught in Virunga’s Lake Edward says
her business has enabled her to afford an
education she otherwise could not.
“We can’t tolerate seeing
oil activities destroying our source of
income,” she said. “What will we become
without Lake Edward?”
“I’ve joined the protest
because I want to add my voice to those
of many of my brothers who live in fear
regarding their future because of the oil
project in Virunga National Park,” the fish-seller
said.
Asked if she was concerned
about speaking out publically in protest
she said, “I’m not afraid, because I defend
my right- the right to a healthy environment.”
Police on the scene
of Monday’s protest ensured participants
were able to express safely their opposition
to oil exploration in Virunga. The event’s
organizers noted that threats against some
anti-oil activists have been recorded over
the previous years.
A declaration issued
at the protest complained that Soco did
not provide communities with a sufficient
amount of information about the risks of
its operations, and that civil society views
were not taken into account.
“The free, prior and
informed consent of communities affected
by oil activities in Virunga National Park
has not been respected,” according to the
written statement, which goes on to request
the cancelation of Soco’s exploration permits.
