A new investigation from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has found that Asian, European and Latin American fishing fleets have devastated fish stocks in the South Pacific, once among the world’s richest waters.
Governments with the power to stop the plunder have stalled for years, according to the ICIJ. As a result, stocks of jack mackerel are down 90 percent, to less than 3 million metric tons in just two decades.
With no binding rules in place, fishing fleets bound only by voluntary restraints compete in what amounts to a free-for-all in open waters from the West Coast of South America across much of the Southern Pacific, according to the report.
A body set up to manage fishing in the region, the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization (SPRFMO), will only become legally binding once at least eight of its members ratify its convention.
SPRMFO delegates from 20 countries will gather 30 January in Chile to deliberate on future catches.
The report, “The Last Fish: Plunder in the South Pacific,” is the latest installment of “Looting the Seas,” a multi-year investigation by the ICIJ. View the full investigation by clicking here.
