Photo Denmark – Thyboron, FEDER-02 – EC
(BRUSSELS) – The European Union issued new warnings on illegal fishing to Kiribati, Sierra Leone and Trinidad and Tobago Thursday, but lifted its red card against Sri Lanka.
The three countries in the Pacific, the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean risk being listed as ‘uncooperative in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing’, says the European Commission.
At the same time, the Commission has lifted the red card and associated trade measures off Sri Lanka, which, it says, has significantly improved its national fisheries governance.
The EU’s warning to Kiribati is based on concerns about the country’s capacity to control fishing activities by foreign fleets. The Commission says there are serious risks that illegally caught fish could be laundered through the ports of Kiribati, as they do not have robust traceability systems in place for fisheries products. Kiribati’s unwillingness to share important information on third country vessels operating in their waters undermines the Commission’s work to improve transparency and sustainability of tuna resources in the Western and Central Pacific.
In Sierra Leone legal texts governing fisheries are outdated and sanctions fail to deter illegal operators operating internationally under the flag of Sierra Leone, without the fisheries authorities’ knowledge. In addition, the number of licensed vessels exceeds the available resources and authorities fail to monitor or control their waters.
Trinidad and Tobago also has a large fleet operating internationally where authorities do not control or inspect foreign vessels, nor cooperate with relevant flag States. The poor traceability system also causes the risk of laundering of fisheries products.
The Commission is proposing a tailor-made action plan to help put in place robust fisheries management control systems for these countries. If identified issues are not resolved within six months, the EU will consider taking further steps, including trade sanctions on fisheries imports.
On a more positive note, the Commission confirms that Sri Lanka has now successfully reformed its fisheries governance system. The country was issued with a yellow card in 2012 and was listed by the EU Council in February 2015. By today it has amended its legal framework, strengthened sanctions and improved its fleet control.
Sri Lanka joins the growing list of countries (Ghana, Papua New Guinea, Korea, the Philippines, Fiji, Belize, Panama, Togo and Vanuatu) that have reformed their systems, following a warning by the EU.
Regarding Thailand, the Commission says it is still evaluating progress since it issued its yellow card. It says the dialogue is ‘proving difficult’ and there remain serious concerns about the steps taken by Thailand to fight IUU fishing activities. Further action can therefore not be ruled out. However, a meeting with Thai authorities in May is seen as a new opportunity for them to show good will and commitment.
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