Oceana blames Italy for turning a blind eye to illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing
Governments in the Mediterranean area are turning a blind eye to illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing practices, said a recent report from Oceana.
The biggest offender seems to be Italy, who's trawler-equipped vessels have accumulated more than 10,000 hours of illegal fishing activity in the Strait of Sicily where an area has been established to protect young hake populations as the stock is already overfished. Trawling in the area is prohibited.
According to Oceana's report, the actual amount of IUU may be even higher, as some vessels could have turned off their identification systems, reports Seafood Source magazine.
“While Mediterranean governments and their leaders are committing globally to fight pirate fishing under the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the very same governments are turning a blind eye to potential cases in their own Mediterranean Sea. Information gathered by Oceana indicates that fishing vessels that can easily be identified are blatantly violating the law in fisheries-restricted areas. They’re doing nothing to uphold the law.”, declared Lasse Gustavsson, executive director of Oceana Europe.
Another report released by UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) declared Mediterranean and Black Sea as the most unsustainable fisheries in the world.
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