EU Seeks Tougher Fines for Illegal Fishing
Date: 26-Jul-07
Country: BELGIUM
Author: Michele Sinner
Violations such as unauthorised fishing, over-fishing and poor quality controls have risen from 9,660 in 2004 to 10,443 in 2005, a report by the EU executive said on Wednesday.
But the report also showed that the average level of fines imposed in the 27-nation bloc more than halved over a two-year period from 4,664 euros (US$6,441) in 2003 to 1,548 euros in 2005.
"It is clear that fines are not high enough to dissuade fishermen," said, Giorgio Galliziolo head of the Commission's fisheries' monitoring and licensing unit.
Europe's fisheries industry paid a total of 10.8 million euros in penalties in 2005, accounting for only 0.17 percent of the value of the previous year's landing of fish.
Spain, Italy and Portugal were responsible for 74 per cent of infringements reported in 2005, with 23 per cent of the reported cases relating to unauthorised fishing.
"Breaching fisheries measures is not an innocuous snub at authority. It really represents a series of repeated blows to the sustainability of the fish stocks and the fisheries concerned," EU Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg said in a statement.
Borg intends to increase pressure on member states by naming and shaming them into action. He is also seeking an overhaul of EU and national fishing regulations in a bid to combat what has become a growing problem across the Union.
