The environmental advocacy group Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) is alleging a Dutch cargo vessel is delivering a shipment of illegal fish worth USD 14 million to Korea this week.
The EJF said the shipment, which is due to arrive 28 October, is carrying Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fish taken off the coast of Sierra Leone on 20 September by a number of Korean trawlers. The trawlers, according to EJF, then transferred the fish to the Holland Klipper off the coast of Guinea. The Klipper then continued on to Korea.
"If this illegal fish is allowed to enter the Korean seafood market, a strong signal will be sent to pirate fishing operators that they can pursue their activities unhindered and continue to profit from the degradation of the marine environment, the depletion of fish stocks and the destruction of the livelihoods of coastal communities," said Steve Trent, EJF's executive director.
The fishing grounds off Sierra Leone are off-limits to trawlers, to allow impoverished local communities to fish in traditional artisanal canoes.
The EJF, in a statement, claimed to use satellite information to confirm the illegal fishing and transfer. The EJF has informed authorities with the E.U. and Korea, and said officials are investigating the EJF's allegations. The Holland Klipper's owner and manager, according to a statement to the BBC, claimed there were clauses in the company's charter to permit the activity, but the EJF disputes that claim.
