Juneau,Alaska. The recent seizure of a stateless ship in international waters 4,200kilometers off Alaska's coast has spotlighted the challenge that the UnitedStates and other nations face in trying to crack down on illegal fishing, anactivity that accounts for up to $23.5 billion a year in global economiclosses.
Findingrogue vessels in the vast, open ocean can be like finding a needle in ahaystack. But US officials and some environmentalists say progress is beingmade, including multinational patrol and enforcement agreements and thepotential for sanctions against countries that engage in illegal, unreportedand unregulated (or IUU) fishing.
Morecountries are joining the efforts and there is greater awareness of the illegalfishing issue in the US and Europe, where patrons ask restaurants and shops forthe source of their product.
There areefforts to better track high-value products like bluefin tuna to ensure theywere obtained legally, and to keep illegal product out, said Rebecca Lent,director of the Office of International Affairs for National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration Fisheries.
Suchefforts are important because "we can't be out there all the time,watching the boats," she said.
"Ithink there's been progress [but] we have to continue; you can't let your guarddown," Lent said. "It's like any place where you might have crime orillegal activity. You just have to stay vigilant, if you will."
The seizureof the Bangun Perkasa was the first of a suspected illegal fishing vessel bythe US Coast Guard since 2008.
The shipwas spotted by a Japanese aircraft on Aug. 31 and seized by the Coast Guard onSept. 7, under an agreement that includes annual patrols of internationalwaters of the Pacific to look for illegal drift-netting. High-seas drift netsare often referred to as "the wall of death" because they capturemyriad species the pirates don't intend to use. The United Nations has banneddrift netting.
The driftnet on the Bangun Perkasa was about 16 kilometers long and crew members cut itin an attempt to flee, said Capt. Craig Lloyd, chief of response for the CoastGuard in Alaska. Authorities were able to stop the vessel but a second ship inthe area got away, he said.
The CoastGuard reported that 30 tons of squid and about 30 shark carcasses were onboardthe rat-infested ship. The vessel arrived near Dutch Harbor in southwest Alaskalast weekend after a laborious escort that included two Coast Guardcutters.
NOAAFisheries must decide what to do with the ship and catch once the rats areeradicated and the boat is in good enough shape to be brought closer to shore.Alaska law forbids ships with rats from entering state waters.
The CoastGuard said the crew initially claimed the vessel was from Indonesia butIndonesian officials did not claim it. In the case of a stateless vessel, theUS can impose its own law, Lloyd said.
The 22 crewmembers are from China, Vietnam, Taiwan and Indonesia, the Coast Guard said.Authorities investigating the case are expected to forward their findings tothe US attorney's office.
Lloydcalled the seizure a big win for the international community and forlaw-abiding fishermen. Still, statistics are elusive as to whether enforcementactions are having a significant impact on the problem.
The USCommerce Department in a report to Congress this year said that since IUUfishing activities are generally carried out covertly monitoring and detectionare difficult.
Estimatessuggest global economic losses due to illegal fishing could be as high as $23.5billion a year, with the problem a particular concern in the waters offdeveloping countries. John Hocevar, oceans campaign director for theenvironmental group Greenpeace USA, said losses to sub-Sahara Africa alone areestimated at over $1 billion annually.
The tolltaken by pirate fishing can't be overstated, he said: Fisheries are beingdepleted, many countries lack the resources to monitor and enforce illegalfishing in their waters, and large ships and powerful gear allow pirates to gofarther out on the high seas, meaning, "fish literally have no place tohide."
He cited aconcern with sharks, often targeted because they're prized for shark-fin soup.Sharks have low reproductive rates, he said, leaving them vulnerable if theirnumbers steeply decline.
Lent saidher agency plans to propose expanding the definition of IUU fishing to includeprotections for sharks.
Earlierthis year, the Commerce Department reported that it had identified sixcountries as having engaged in IUU fishing in 2009 or 2010: Colombia, Ecuador,Italy, Panama, Portugal and Venezuela. Twelve other countries were consideredbut either the allegations were refuted or the nations involved said they'dacted to address the concern.
Italy,Panama and four other countries — France, Libya, China and Tunisia — wereidentified in a 2009 report to Congress. But in each case of verifiedviolations, the countries took action against the vessels or persons involvedand showed proof of their own efforts, according to the Commerce Department.
Countriesthat do not comply run the risk of sanctions including a block on imports. Hocevar said the federal government now hasstrong tools to hold other countries accountable if they're supporting illegalfishing. And he thinks NOAA is doing a good job in addressing the problem.
Newtechnology to monitor vessels and attention to the issue by the United Nationshelps, too.
"Butthe fact is, we still have a multibillion-dollar problem on our hands," hesaid, "and we still have a long way to go."
Associated Press
