DEEP-SEA FISH STOCKS ’ PLUNDERED ’

[Anonymous]

Deep-sea fish stocks ‘plundered’
Fish stocks in international waters are being plundered to the point of extinction, a leading conservationist group has said.Illegal fishing and bottom-trawling in deep waters are to blame, according to a report from WWF.
It
says the current system of regional fishing regulation is failing to
tackle the problem, with not enough being done to enforce quotas or
replenish stocks.It says species under severe threat include tuna and
the orange roughy.
The orange roughy is targeted by bottom-trawlers,
which drag heavy rollers over the ocean floor, destroying coral and
other ecosystems.”Given the perilous overall state of marine fisheries
resources and the continuing threats posed to the marine environment
from over-fishing and damaging fishing activity, the need for action is
immediate,” Simon Cripps, director of WWF’s global marine programme,
said.Illegal fishing “by highly mobile fleets under the control of
multinational companies” was identified as one of the worst threats to
marine life.But the report also attacked governments for over
fishing.”Vast over-capacity in authorised fleets, over-fishing of
stocks… the virtual absence of robust rebuilding strategies… and a
lack of precaution where information is lacking or uncertain are all
characteristic of the management regimes currently in place,” it said.

No enforcement
The
report was released ahead of a New York meeting on the United Nations
Fish Stocks Agreement, the legal framework for the management of fish
stocks on the high seas, next week.BBC science reporter Matt McGrath
says that on the high seas – away from the protection of national
quotas – fish stocks are at their most vulnerable.It’s got to stop,
we’ve got to do it quickly. There is hope, if we can get management put
in place Simon CrippsWWF global marine programme

‘Ban destructive fishing’
The
regulation of fishing in these international waters is the
responsibility of regional fishing management organisations – made up
of countries with a vested interest in the area.
According to WWF, most are failing to manage fish stocks in a sustainable way.
Decision-making
is poor, it says, and the regional organisations are powerless to
control the activities of countries who ignore regulations.This backs
up the conclusions of an analysis last year from the conservation group
BirdLife International, which concluded that a majority of the regional
fisheries organisations are failing to take their responsibilities
seriously.The authors are calling on the United Nations to review
fishing on the high seas and strengthen the resolve of regional
authorities to deal with states that flout agreements.”It’s got to
stop, we’ve got to do it quickly,” Mr Cripps said. “There is hope, if
we can get management put in place.”

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May 22, 2006 at 9:56 AM