Source: ABC Radio Australia
China has had its first tuna boat recommended for blacklisting for illegal fishing in the Pacific. The recommendation was made by the 24-nation Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission which has been meeting in the Federated States of Micronesia.
Presenter: Jemima Garrett
Speakers: Glen Hurry, Executive Director of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission; Benjo Tabios, the Philippines delegation leader at the WCPFC meeting in Pohnpei
GARRETT: In the past it has been Taiwan that has been the main culprit when it comes to illegal fishing in the Pacific but, with China expanding its fleet and its investment in the region, it too has fallen foul of the authorities.
At this week's meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission a Chinese vessel, the Liao Dagan Yu 55049, was one of four recommended for blacklistings.
The others were a Georgian-flagged vessel, a Vanuatu flagged vessel and a vessel of indeterminate origin.
The Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency's delegation leader, Wes Norris, says blacklisting is an effective sanction.
NORRIS: It can have very significant ramifications for a vessel to be on the blacklist. First of all, all of the members of the Commission have certain obligations that they must live up to in respect of vessels that have been listed, such as, not allowing their own vessels to interact with it, to take product of it or put product onto it, not allowing it to use ports, other than some very specific circumstances, not license it to fish in their waters. So particularly in this region, if a vessel is listed, then it really removes the ability for that vessel to operate.
GARRETT: There were six Chinese vessels that were caught in the Solomon Islands waters fishing illegally, how have the other five escaped being recommended for the blacklist?
NORRIS: The case surrounding the additional five vessels between the Solomon Islands and China is a very complicated one and it's one that both countries have agreed to cooperating and moving forward and trying to resolve. It basically stems from the issuance of a letter of comfort to the vessels and associated uncertainty as to the legality of that document and the rights that it conferred.
GARRETT: The issuing of those letters of comfort by the Solomon Islands Director of Fisheries was controversial and the issue may go before the courts.
Glen Hurry, Executive Director of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission says fault was clear only in the case of the one Chinese vessel recommended for blacklisting.
HURRY: The other five the Commission felt still remained an issue between the Solomon Islands and the People's Republic of China to try and sort out.
GARRETT: Many more boats come up for consideration than get on the blacklist. How easy is it to blacklist boats when you have the offending nation sitting there at the table?
HURRY: It's challenging at times. No, that's difficult. Most of these commissions are consensus based and it becomes a reasonably difficult issue to get them listed when the contracting party who is a flag status sitting in the room. But more and more, if a decent case is put to the Commission, the flag state will often support it, because they don't want to have their name as a flagging state tarnished by having a long list of blacklisted vessels attached to their flag either. So they often put pressure on the companies to improve their compliance as well.
GARRETT: Well over half the world's tuna is caught in the Pacific and real concern is held for the fish stocks, particularly Bigeye and Yellowfin.
While the net is tightening on illegal fishing, some offenders, such as those from the Philippines caught by the United States Coast Guard during the Forum Fisheries Agency's surveillance operation in August, do not go before the Commission.
Benjo Tabios is the Philippines delegation leader.
TABIOS: Unfortunately, there is a recent incident wherein two fishing vessels from the Philippines which were not authorized to fish in the high seas and which do not have an international fishing license, fishing permit, which were found to be conducting fishing activities in the high seas, north of Palau. Unfortunately, since they were not part of the WCPFC records of fishing vessels authorized to fish outside of waters under national jurisdiction of the Philippines, they have violated their license to fish. It's now undergoing administrative procedures for the cancellation of their commercial fishing vessel license and commercial fishing gear license.
GARRETT: So will they lose those licenses in the Philippines?
TABIOS: Yeah, that is a big no, no for a Philippine company.
GARRETT: In the Philippines, as elsewhere, overcapacity in the tuna fleet is the source of many problems.
The challenge is to find alternative employment for thousands of fishermen before the industry further depletes the resource and its own future.