The WhoFishesFar.org website has revealed that 22,085 EU vessels have operated in non-EU waters since 2008, but Oceana says that the lack of official data on those operating in Africa under private agreements is alarming.
The organisation is calling on EU Ministers in the upcoming Council of Ministers in June to back new regulation that would ensure these vessels adhere to EU controls and standards.
“These vessels operate in a total lack of transparency and control and should not have the same access to the European market as operators that adhere to EU environmental and labour standards,” said María José Cornax, fisheries director for Oceana in Europe.
“This is a loophole that makes the EU fleet vulnerable to illegal activities. It must be addressed or the Council of Ministers will fail to implement a fundamental objective of the Common Fisheries Policy, which requires transparency and sustainability in all fishing operations. The benefits of cleaning up the EU fleet far outweigh any argument of unnecessary red tape.”
The regulation governing the activities of Europe’s external fishing fleet is under review. In December last year, the European Commission released a proposal that is now being negotiated with Member States and the EU Parliament. Oceana and its allies are calling for it to include an important measure against illegal fishing - the creation of a public register with data on private and chartering agreements that includes unique vessel identifiers (IMO numbers) in order to track all vessels’ compliance history.
