An event being held in Brussels this week will see some major players in international fisheries management coming together to unite in the fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing.
The event, hosted by the Environmental Justice Foundation, will feature a keynote speech about the EU’s active role in adopting the IUU Regulation to improve controls and identify offenders, by Maria Damanaki, European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.
Additional speeches will be given by Gabriel Mato Adrover, Chair of the European Parliament Committee on Fisheries; the Honourable Julien Nkoghe Bekale, Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries Gabon, and the Honourable Peter Sinon, Minister for Natural Resources Seychelles.
Representatives will attend from EU Member States, west African nations, which suffer the highest levels of pirate fishing in the world, and nations who have been previously criticised for inaction against IUU fishing, including Korea.
The event promises to offer a lively debate on where responsibilities lie in taking urgent measures to tackle IUU fishing, which costs the global economy an estimated US$10 to 23.5bn, representing between 11 and 26 million tonnes of fish.
