On 5 November a representative of the Korean Government announced that it will be investigating Dutch-flagged cargo vessel, Holland Klipper, which arrived in the Korean port of Busan on 31 October carrying an estimated $14m of suspected illegal fish.
Sangho Park, Fisheries attaché at the Korean Mission to the EU, made the announcement during an event hosted by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) in Brussels to encourage EU Member States to take stronger action on pirate fishing.
Mr Park confirmed that the vessel had arrived in Busan and that the authorities were carrying out an investigation into the legality of the fish it is carrying. The announcement also included the promise that the results of the investigation would be made public when completed.
For background information on the Holland Klipper story please click here and here.
Also at the EJF event, European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Maria Damanaki, announced that the failure of Guinea, Cambodia and Belize to cooperate in the fight against IUU fishing left her “with no other choice but to move to the next phase”. Commissioner Damanaki is due to begin the process of designating them as “non-cooperating”.
“Thereafter, upon final listing by the Council, all fisheries products caught by vessels of these countries will automatically be banned from entering the EU market. EU vessels won't have the right to fish in the waters of those countries anymore,” the Commissioner told the event.
