(IntraFish) Eight months after the US and European Union signed a landmark bill to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, WWF is urgently calling on EU and US leaders for stronger action to end unfair fishing practices and to fight trade in illegal fish products.
As seafood industry leaders and environmental non-government organizations meet today with EU's Commissioner of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Maria Damanaki and Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere Dr. Jane Lubchenco, WWF reiterates its support for cost-effective actions to halt IUU fishing and keep IUU seafood off market shelves.
According to WWF, IUU fish are an estimated 20 percent of all wild catches, with an annual value around $23 billion (€18.5 billion).
"As two of the world’s biggest fishing powers and seafood consuming societies, the EU and US have both the responsibility and the capacity to confront the IUU scourge," WWF said.
In the past eight months, the two governments have taken some solid initial steps, including joint efforts to strengthen anti IUU measures in regional bodies such as those charged with conservation of endangered Atlantic bluefin tuna and Southern Ocean toothfish. However, action towards full implementation of the EU-US accord is lagging, with no concrete workplan or implementing structures yet in place.