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House passes bill to combat foreign illegal fishing

July 27, 2015 –WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation cosponsored by Congressman David Jolly, R-Indian Shores, July 27 to fight the problem of illegal fishing from foreign vessels in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing Enforcement Act of 2015 (H.R. 774) passed the House by voice vote.

“Illegal fishing from foreign vessels is a direct threat to the livelihood of thousands of hardworking Americans along the Gulf coast as well as the quality of life throughout our Bay area communities. This bill will strengthen enforcement mechanisms against those who illegally fish our waters and will protect this important resource for our recreational, commercial, and charter boat fisherman,” Jolly said.

Read the full story at Tampa Bay Newspapers

 

A RENEGADE TRAWLER, HUNTED FOR 10,000 MILES BY VIGILANTES

July 28, 2015 — Aboard the Bob Barker, in the South Atlantic — As the Thunder, a trawler considered the world’s most notorious fish poacher, began sliding under the sea a couple of hundred miles south of Nigeria, three men scrambled aboard to gather evidence of its crimes.

In bumpy footage from their helmet cameras, they can be seen grabbing everything they can over the next 37 minutes — the captain’s logbooks, a laptop computer, charts and a slippery 200-pound fish. The video shows the fishing hold about a quarter full with catch and the Thunder’s engine room almost submerged in murky water. “There is no way to stop it sinking,” the men radioed back to the Bob Barker, which was waiting nearby. Soon after they climbed off, the Thunder vanished below.

It was an unexpected end to an extraordinary chase. For 110 days and more than 10,000 nautical miles across two seas and three oceans, the Bob Barker and a companion ship, both operated by the environmental organization Sea Shepherd, had trailed the trawler, with the three captains close enough to watch one another’s cigarette breaks and on-deck workout routines. In an epic game of cat-and-mouse, the ships maneuvered through an obstacle course of giant ice floes, endured a cyclone-like storm, faced clashes between opposing crews and nearly collided in what became the longest pursuit of an illegal fishing vessel in history.

Industrial-scale violators of fishing bans and protected areas are a main reason more than half of the world’s major fishing grounds have been depleted and by some estimates over 90 percent of the ocean’s large fish like marlin, tuna and swordfish have vanished. Interpol had issued a Purple Notice on the Thunder (the equivalent of adding it to a Most Wanted List, a status reserved for only four other ships in the world), but no government had been willing to dedicate the personnel and millions of dollars needed to go after it.

So Sea Shepherd did instead, stalking the fugitive 202-foot steel-sided ship from a desolate patch of ocean at the bottom of the Earth, deep in Antarctic waters, to any ports it neared, where its crews could alert the authorities. “The poachers thrive by staying in the shadows,” Peter Hammarstedt, captain of the Barker, said while trying to level his ship through battering waves. “Our plan was to put a spotlight on them that they couldn’t escape.”

Read the full story at The New York Times 

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

 

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