The nonprofit group Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) is calling on E.U. leaders to do more to implement regulations already in place to curb the sale of seafood in Europe that is the product of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
The E.U. created new laws to address IUU fishing on 1 January 2010, but the U.K.-based EJF is arguing that there is evidence of fisheries in some countries, including those in West Africa, are still exporting IUU-caught seafood to Europe, something the 2010 regulations are supposed to prevent.
EJF members are meeting with E.U. fisheries officials in Brussels, Belgium this week to discuss the EJF’s evidence of IUU fishing.
“The Regulation could, and should, enable the EU to take a truly global lead in the fight against IUU fishing,” said Steve Trent, EJF’s executive director. “Our investigations show that weaknesses in implementation are creating opportunities for IUU fishing operators to avoid detection and continue to access the European seafood market.”
In particular, the EJF has cited a growing trend in containerized fish making it more important to scrutinize trade flows.
