BRUSSELS — November 26, 2013 — The European Union's fisheries chief wants trade measures imposed against Belize, Cambodia and Guinea for allegedly refusing to curb illegal fishing.
And in a warning to a big fisheries nation, EU Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki on Tuesday told South Korea to change its ways or end up on the blacklist too. Given the EU is the world's biggest trading bloc, a ban can really hurt.
Environmental groups welcomed the moves and the Pew Charitable Trusts said it showed the 28-country EU "is serious about combatting illegal fishing."
Damanaki said the three countries continued with illegal practices even after being warned last year. The EU says illegal and unregulated fishing accounts for at least 15 percent of the global value of catches.
And a conservative EU estimate values the theft from the oceans at 10 billion euros ($13.5 billion) a year. Other studies put it at almost twice that.
Read the full story by the Associated Press at NPR