Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the Comoros have been identified as non-cooperating third countries under the EU’s regulation to fight and deter illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, while Liberia has been pre-identified.
Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella, commented: “We are showing our commitment to fight illegal fishing globally. The EU’s actions in the past years created an incentive for states to take their responsibilities seriously, and implement reforms to their fisheries sector.
“We do not like to impose sanctions on third countries, but sometimes clear action is needed,” he said.
“We invite the Comoros and Saint Vincent and Grenadines to seriously step up their fight against illegal fishing so that we can reverse this decision quickly. Following today’s warning to Liberia we hope their authorities choose to act quickly and correct their wrongdoings.”
The decision to issue a red card to the Comoros is based on the typical use of its national flag as a flag of convenience, which means registering a ship in a sovereign state different from that of the ship’s owners, explained Vella.
Background
Today’s decisions are based on the EU’s ‘IUU Regulation,’ which entered into force in 2010. This key instrument in the fight against illegal fishing ensures that only fisheries products that have been certified as legal can access the EU market.
Since November 2012 the Commission has launched formal dialogues with several third countries (pre-identification or “yellow card”), which have been warned of the need to take strong action to fight IUU fishing.
When significant progress is observed, the Commission can end the dialogue (lifting the pre-identification status or “green card”). A few countries have not shown the necessary commitment to reforms. As a result fisheries products caught by vessels from these countries are banned from being imported into the EU (identification and listing or “red card”). A full list of countries is available on: https://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/sites/fisheries/files/illegal-fishing-overview-of-existing-procedures-third-countries_en.pdf.
The global value of IUU fishing is estimated at approximately 10 billion euros per year. Between 11 and 26 million tonnes of fish are caught illegally a year, corresponding to at least 15% of world catches. The EU is the world’s biggest importer of fisheries products.
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