Evidence has been uncovered revealing the transshipment of fish at sea and illegal fishing, which together bring illegally-caught products into the EU marketplace, said the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF).
Ineffective monitoring means that consignments of transshipped fish regularly enter the EU marketplace, said the NGO
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The opportunity for fish ‘laundering’ to take place without detection means that fish stolen by pirate fishers from some of the poorest coastal communities in the world is being authorized by the EU to enter the European marketplace.
Global losses due to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing are estimated to be between $10 billion and $23.5 billion every year, it said.
West African waters are deemed to have the highest levels of IUU fishing in the world, representing up to 37% of the region’s catch. Along with the economic losses, pirate fishing in West Africa severely compromises food security and the livelihoods of coastal communities, the health of fish stocks and the marine environment, said EJF.
EJF says it has gathered evidence that the transshipment of fish from one vessel to another frequently facilitates the laundering of illegally-caught fish, due to the inability of coastal and flag state authorities to monitor how, by whom and where transferred fish was caught.
“The complications involved in monitoring large-scale transfers of fish at sea mean that any transshipment of fish from one vessel to another can currently obscure illegal activities,” said Steve Trent, executive director of EJF.
“Transshipment adds to the opacity in global fisheries that enables pirate fishers to operate in the shadows, far from supervision and regulation.”
“Fish is being caught illegally in the waters of West Africa, transshipped at sea and ‘laundered’ under a legal vessel’s paperwork to end up on our plates in Europe. Pirate fishing is devastating coastal communities in West Africa, where they have the highest levels of illegal fishing in the world. We simply cannot allow their food security to continue to be compromised whilst their fish enters the European marketplace.”
The NGO called for a ban of transshipment at sea, citing the difficulties in managing the activity as a key reason for illegally-caught fish being able to reach EU marketplaces.
EJF has released a briefing on transshipment at sea and why it ought to be banned, which can befound at its website.