Philippines has been warned by The European Union

Jun 11, 2014

The European Union has warned the Philippines and Papua New Guinea that they will face an import ban if they do not curb illegal fishing.

The warning, which was welcomed by environmental groups, puts the two countries on the EU’s "yellow list", which requires them to improve monitoring and control of fishing practices.

Failure to do so will put them onto the "red list" of nations which are not allowed to sell fish to the 28-nation EU.

"If half of the Western Pacific’s tuna is exported to the EU, we cannot ignore illegal fishing activities in this region," European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Maria Damanaki said in a statement.

The warning follows a thorough analysis and takes into account the countries’ development level, the Commission said.

The position will be reviewed in six months time to see if the two countries have made enough progress on action plans drawn up by the EU, it added.

Fisheries in the Philippines and PNG are under huge pressure from growing populations and environmental damage.

In 2013, the EU imported fish worth 165 million euros from the Philippines and 108 million euros from PNG.

In March, the EU banned fish imports from Belize, Cambodia and Guinea for "acting insufficiently against illegal fishing."

The Commission similarly warned Panama, Fiji, Togo, Sri Lanka and Vanuatu in 2012 and South Korea, Ghana and Curacao in 2013 but said most of these countries had "cooperated constructively" with Brussels.

Illegal fishing is estimated to account for 15 per cent of the world catch annually.

Source: Australia Network News