The European Commission has warmly welcomed this year''s annual United Nations resolution on sustainable fisheries, adopted by the general assembly today, as a significant step forward in the fight against pirate fishing worldwide.
Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Joe Borg commented, "This is the first time the UN has recognised the vital need to address the trade dimension of illegal fishing. We have to stop illegally caught products entering the market chain, and deprive unscrupulous operators of the economic benefit of their actions. Then we will stand some chance of eradicating these practices which are not only a threat to fish stocks and marine ecosystems, but also to the future of the fishing industry."
The UN Resolution clearly calls on States to take all necessary measures to help prevent the products of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing from entering international trade. This approach is entirely in line with that taken by the EU in its recent regulation on IUU fishing, and the Commission strongly supports all international initiatives which can help to close the market door on illegal fisheries products.
The UN resolution also welcomes the port State measures adopted by a number of Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) to combat IUU fishing, and calls on states to cooperate to improve the functioning of tuna RFMOs by following scientific advice more closely. The UN agreed that RFMOs should work together to ensure they fully integrate the lessons of the performance reviews currently in progress for several of them.
Other notable points of the resolution, in whose formulation the EU played an active role, include calls on RFMOs and flag States to consolidate their efforts for the management of bottom fishing in the high seas, as on the international community to address the issue of discarding.
