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FAO / BLACK SEA ILLEGAL FISHING
STORY: FAO / BLACK SEA ILLEGAL FISHING
TRT: 03:59
SOURCE: FAO
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: BULGARIAN / ROMANIAN / UKRAINIAN / ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE:
12 APRIL 2018, NESEBĂR, BULGARIA / 13 APRIL 2018, MARINA PORT OF SOZOPOL (BURGAS), BULGARIA / 24 APRIL 2018, CONSTANȚA, ROMANIA / 12 DECEMBER 2017, ODESSA, UKRAINE / 6 DECEMBER 2017, POTI, GEORGIA
13 APRIL 2018, MARINA PORT OF SOZOPOL (BURGAS), BULGARIA
1. Wide shot, inspection boat approaching a fishing vessel
2. Close up, NAFA inscription on boat
3. Various shots, inspectors boarding on a fishing vessel
4. Various shots, inspectors asking questions and controlling documents on fishing vessel
5. SOUNDBITE (Bulgarian) Dimitar Petkov, Chief expert, Executive Agency for Fisheries and Aquaculture (EAFA), Bulgaria:
“There is currently an inspection going on to verify the vessel’s documents, the commercial fishing certificates, as well as the catch and fishing gear. We also check the fishing log, what has been filled in, and whether everything complies with the requirements of the law for fisheries and aquaculture.”
6. Wide shot, inspection of catch
7. SOUNDBITE (Bulgarian) Galin Nikolov, Executive Director, Executive Agency for Fisheries and Aquaculture (EAFA), Burgas, Bulgaria:
“We divide control mainly into two functions: the control of the Black Sea and the control of the inland water basins. A total of 125 people are involved in control activities, and they work in teams distributed into 27 units throughout the country. As regards sea control, most of the inspectors are concentrated here, with a large number of the inspectors being also European inspectors.”
12 APRIL 2018, NESEBĂR, BULGARIA
8. Various shots, inspection activities onboard fishing vessel
9. Various shots, fish boxes landing and inspection activities
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Simion Nicolaev, General Director, National Institute for Marine Research and Development “Grigore Antipa”, Constanţa, Romania:
“The situation is better than it was 10-15 years ago, because it was a tradition for the fishing vessels to come here and install fishing nets for turbot especially. But in the last two years, the involvement of the people and authorities has been enough to create a better situation regarding existing cases of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.”
6 DECEMBER 2017, POTI, GEORGIA
11. Various shots, fishers cleaning purse seine net at the port
12. SOUNDBITE (Bulgarian) Kiril Zheglev, Fisher, Nesebăr, Bulgaria:
“It is a decision of the government of each country. In particular, the European Union, as a large organization with many Member States should find some solution. Because everything reflects on us. We are the smallest link in the whole chain.”
12 APRIL 2018, NESEBĂR, BULGARIA
13. Various shots, catch on vessel
14. SOUNDBITE (Bulgarian) Galin Nikolov, Executive Director, Executive Agency for Fisheries and Aquaculture (EAFA), Burgas, Bulgaria:
“The fishers are the ones who need to have fish in the sea, and they are the people who have to preserve it, above all, in order to be able to do their job.”
24 APRIL 2018, CONSTANȚA, ROMANIA
15. Close up, research vessel net
16. Med shot, vessel cabin
17. Close up, tool measuring net
18. Close up, VMS mobile app
12 DECEMBER 2017, ODESSA, UKRAINE
19. Various shots, training on fisheries control and inspection for Ukrainian inspectors
24 APRIL 2018, CONSTANȚA, ROMANIA
20. Various shots, inspectors measuring legal size of rapana venosa
The first International Day for the Fight against Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing will be celebrated on 5 June, 2018. IUU fishing threatens sustainable management of all marine resources, affecting 11-26 million tonnes of fish, representing 20 percent of catches annually.
IUU fishing’s value is estimated at up to 23 billion US dollars annually.
It negatively impacts the economics and livelihoods of small-scale fishers in developing countries, as well as having detrimental effects on the environment. Moreover, IUU fishing is often tied to other illegal activities, including forced labour and slave labour, human trafficking, drug smuggling, and tax crimes.
Although putting an end to IUU fishing is a daunting challenge, in recent years, consensus has built around the need of working together to end these illegal practices.
The Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO’s) contributions to the development of international instruments, include: the Port State Measures Agreement (2016), which prevents illegally caught fish from entering international markets through ports; the Catch Documentation Schemes (2017), which provides better and more harmonized traceability of fish along the value chain; the Global Record of Fishing Vessels, Refrigerated Transport Vessels and Supply Vessels (2014), a state-certified repository of vessels involved in fishing operations.
In the Black Sea, all riparian countries are fully committed in tackling the most urgent challenges to achieve lawful use of marine resources. And fishermen are aware of their role in achieving sustainable fisheries. A fleet of around 9,200 vessels is currently operating in the Black Sea. The fishing sector, which has a long tradition, plays a major socio-economic role in the region. As such, a delicate balance should be maintained.
Bulgaria and Romania, as EU countries, have greatly reduced the cases of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in their waters of competence. Monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) in the field have been implemented and the capacities of inspectors have been improved, thanks to the training and technical equipment provided by European Fishers Control Agency and the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) such as the Vessel monitoring systems.
The Black Sea is highly vulnerable. A series of dramatic environmental changes have occurred since the 1960s, and fisheries collapsed in the late 1980s. Pollution and overfishing have also greatly affected the basin. All this has highlighted severe issues to be faced, as for example, cases of IUU fishing targeting vulnerable species.
There is a pressing need for an effective sub-regional regulation between EU members and other Black Sea riparian states. In fact, all six riparian countries are working towards strengthening and building the capacity of their inspectors.
The June 6 Sofia Conference offers a new occasion to harmonize rules, implement measures, and strengthen cooperation to eradicate IUU fishing in the Black Sea.
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