Saving Seafood

Palau Burns Illegal Fishing Boats From Vietnam

June 15, 2015 — VIETNAM — On June 12, authorities in Palau burned four Vietnamese “Blue Boat” vessels caught engaged in illegal fishing off the Pacific island nation’s Kayangel Island. Among their 17,000-pound haul were protected sea turtle, sea cucumber, and reef fish species.

The strong response comes amid a wave of increased illegal fishing activity from Asia in Palau’s waters. The 77 men aboard the vessels were loaded onto two unburned boats with enough fuel and provisions to return to Vietnam.

Pew is working with Palau to create a marine sanctuary in its waters that will be one of the largest fully protected areas of ocean in the world when the legislation is approved. In April, Pew co-hosted a three-day workshop with Palau’s president, Tommy E. Remengesau, Jr., and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography to develop a comprehensive enforcement plan for the proposed sanctuary.

Read the full story from The Pew Charitable Trusts 

 

Despite maritime security tension, US and China to cooperate on combating illegal fishing

June 24, 2015 — The U.S. and China said Wednesday they are stepping up cooperation on preserving the ocean and combating illegal fishing despite their differences on maritime security.

Secretary of State John Kerry said that indicates the two nations are “working hard to address differences and to find the areas of commonality.”

The two governments discussed ocean policy on the final day Wednesday of high-level talks on security and the economy. The leaders of the Chinese delegation met later Wednesday at the White House with President Barack Obama, who will host China’s President Xi Jinping in the fall.

This week’s talks are a prelude to Xi’s visit, his first to the U.S. since 2013. Despite growing tensions over cybertheft and China’s island-building in the disputed South China Sea, the U.S. and China are stressing how they can work together on less contentious issues, such as climate change.

State Councilor Yang Jiechi said they have “broad common interests in global maritime governance” and that they could jointly build a “peaceful and tranquil” marine environment.

Read the full story from the Associated Press here

 

Spain Imposes Huge Fines on Illegal Fishing Beneficiaries

June 25, 2015 — The Spanish Government has announced penalties that could reach more than 11 million Euros against Spanish individuals and companies involved in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

An EU coalition of three international NGOs, including Environmental Justice Foundation, Oceana and WWF has described it as a historic moment in the battle against IUU fishing and are calling on other EU member states to follow suit with their own nationals.

The fines, the highest known imposed by an EU government, are issued against companies and individuals for 19 serious infringements linked to illegal fishing activities in the Southern Ocean.

The companies are allegedly linked to a Galician syndicate suspected of poaching Patagonian toothfish in Antarctic waters for more than a decade.

Maria Jose Cornax, Fisheries Campaign manager at Oceana, welcomed the announcement: “This is the highest known sanction and the first of its kind ever imposed in the European Union regarding IUU fishing.

“Today’s announcement sends a clear warning message to citizens who until now have felt protected by anonymous shell companies in offshore havens and flags of convenience.

Read the full story at The Fish Site

 

Spain Proposes Big Fines for Alleged Antarctic Fish Poachers

June 23, 2015 — MADRID — Authorities in Spain have accused a company there of running a lucrative international operation that illegally captured vast amounts of an Antarctic fish prized in top restaurants.

The Spanish government proposes fining the company as much as 11.4 million euros ($12.9 million) for alleged poaching of the Antarctic toothfish, a delicacy marketed in North America as Chilean sea bass.

A government statement said the operation was concealed behind a labyrinthine system of foreign front companies, with fishing boats flying the flags of African and Asian countries to mask ownership.

Spain did not name the companies, but New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Murray McCully told The Associated Press in an interview they were all linked to Vidal Armadores SA, which was fined 150,000 euros in 2010 for illegal fishing near Antarctica.

The Spanish government declined comment when asked why it did not name Vidal or the front companies it allegedly used.

Read the full story at The New York Times

Spanish government cracks down on illegal fishing with €11m in fines

June 22, 2015 — The EU’s recent high profile fishing policy reforms took a major step forward this week as the Spanish government announced potential penalties of up to €11m (£7.8m) for those engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

The fines, which were issued late last week against companies and individuals for 19 serious incidents, are the highest to be imposed by an EU government and have been described as “historic” by a coalition of three international NGOs, including the Environmental Justice Foundation, Oceana, and WWF.

More than 3,000 documents were analyzed by the Spanish Government as part of ‘Operation Sparrow’, which also saw officials raid fishing companies suspected of breaching fishing regulations.

Read the full story at Business Green