MORE than 80 fishing nations met this week at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome, Italy, to hammer out a draft treaty which will allow them to block their ports to boats that are fishing illegally.
“Illegal, unregulated and unreported” fishing, whether from legitimate fishing crews bending quota restrictions or rogue vessels exploiting the high seas, now accounts for some 10 per cent of the global catch.
The illegal catch is escalating as food demand grows and as globalised markets allow vessels to sell their catches anywhere in the world, without the knowledge of fisheries authorities. This…
