The ban is the first of its kind to have until now been implemented by the EU

Mar 26, 2014 12:23 GMT  ·  By

The European Union has recently instituted a seafood trade ban that targets illegal fishing nations.

The Unions expects that, as a result of this drastic step, countries that have not yet taken measures to curb and eventually halt illegal fishing activities will feel compelled to push for sustainability or risk economic losses.

Media reports say that, under this seafood trade ban, member states of the European Union can no longer import fish originating from Belize, Cambodia, and/or Guinea.

Besides, fishing vessels belonging to European Union members are not allowed to go fishing in the waters of any of the three aforementioned nations.

Business Green informs that Belize, Cambodia, and Guinea were all pointed the finger at by the European Commission back in November 2012, together with five other countries.

At that time, the European Commission argued that none of those eight nations was doing much to prevent illegal fishing activities in its waters.

Specifically, the countries were accused of failing to properly monitor their fishing fleets and not doing enough to sanction those found guilty of carrying out illegal fishing activities.

The lack of strict fisheries laws was said to also be an issue.

Shortly after the European Commission voiced these complaints, Fiji, Panama, Sri Lanka, Togo, and Vanuatu moved to improve on their fisheries governance.

Belize, Cambodia, and Guinea, on the other hand, did no such thing.

Hence, the European Union saw fit to twist their arm into becoming a tad more environmentally friendly by placing trade restrictions on all three of them.

“I want EU citizens to know that the fish they consume is sustainable, wherever it comes from. We are steadily moving in that direction,” European Union Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki said in a statement.

“I hope that this blacklisting will act as a catalyst for Belize, Cambodia, and Guinea to step up their efforts and work with the international community to eliminate illegal fishing,” she added.

It is estimate that the global illegal fishing industry has an annual catch of about 11 million – 26 million tonnes.

Consequently, this industry is argued to not only damage the world's fish stocks, but also cost the economy some €7-17 billion (approximately $9.67-23.49 billion) annually.

Commenting on the European Union's decision to implement a seafood trade ban against illegal fishing nations, Steve Trent, executive director of Environmental Justice Foundation, stated as follows:

“Closing the world’s most valuable seafood market to countries that do not cooperate in fighting illegal fishing is a crucial step, and we applaud the EU for taking this decision.”

“We expect that Belize, Cambodia and Guinea will now take immediate action to impose effective fishing regulations,” added Eszter Hidas with the World Wildlife Fund.