Industry Supports Crackdown on Illegal Fishing

NZ Seafood Industry Supports Global Crackdown on Illegal Fishing

06 March 2006

“We support the Minister of Fisheries, Hon. Jim Anderton, in his participation in the global initiative to crackdown on illegal fishing,” said Owen Symmans, Chief Executive of the NZ Seafood Industry Council, today.

“We hope that this plan will lead the way for sustainable global fisheries.”

New Zealand has a stringent process to manage fisheries within our Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) with our Quota Management System and if New Zealand vessels leave our EEZ, they must have a permit, and must report where they are and what they are catching.

“Far greater protection and implementation is needed to manage the High Seas. Illegal fishing is a huge problem in some parts of the world and there are countries that do not require any reporting of fishing activity in the High Seas. There are boats that are going there unregulated and scooping up large volumes of fish. We want to see the cowboys reined in and this practice put a stop to. We want sustainable fisheries worldwide and we hope this initiative will be a significant step in achieving this,” said Mr Symmans.

ENDS

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