MEPs will vote on measures to curb the illegal fishing of the Patagonian Toothfish in Antarctic waters. Doeke Eisma (ELDR, NL) says the controls adopted by CCAMLR (the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources), which the European Commission wants incorporated into Community law, are a welcome first step towards tackling the problem.
Catches of the Patagonian Toothfish by vessels from Non-Contracting Parties to the CCAMLR Convention total some 100 000 tonnes (compared to the legal quota of 13 000). The CCAMLR scheme imposes inspections on vessels from Non-Contracting Parties sighted in the CCAMLR area and a ban on landings and transhipments of catches taken in breach of CCAMLR rules.
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