November 5, 1997
(en español)
HOBART, Australia -- WWF-World Wide Fund For Nature called today for
an end to all high seas fishing for the Patagonian toothfish in the
Southern Ocean until better management and enforcement measures can
be put into place to halt the escalating poaching of this
commercially-valued species.
New evidence of illegal fishing was unveiled last week at the scientific
committee meeting of the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic
Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which began here 27 October.
Scientists estimate that during the last year up to 80 vessels were
involved in either illegal or unregulated catch worth US $200-300 million.
Illegal fish catch is estimated at 100,000 tonnes compared to the legal
allotment of around 13,000 tonnes.
"Modern day piracy is alive and well, and unregulated fishing for the
highly-prized Patagonian toothfish has reached dangerous levels," said
Margaret Moore, a senior conservation officer at WWF-Australia. "WWF
applauds the recent action taken by the Australian government to
crackdown on the illegal fishers, but further action is needed. CCAMLR
nations must now follow up by closing all fishing for toothfish on the high
seas until fail-safe enforcement measures are in place."
The circumpolar fishery for Patagonian toothfish is the latest example of
the "gold rush" that has characterized many high seas fisheries in recent
years. Such fisheries often involve "boom and bust" cycles of rapid
escalation of fishing effort and depletion of populations.
The toothfish is a deepwater, long-lived species that is poorly
understood by scientists. In such cases, WWF believes that
precautionary catch limits should be set until scientists better understand
the population dynamics of the species.
"This unregulated, open season on the Patagonian toothfish illustrates
why we need the new treaty governing fishing on the high seas," said
Michael Sutton, director of WWF's Endangered Seas Campaign. The
treaty, known as the UN Agreement on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly
Migratory Fish Stocks, was negotiated in 1995 but has not yet entered
into force for want of ratification by 30 countries. "Once this treaty has
enough nations' support, regional management bodies, such as CCAMLR,
will be empowered to deal with pirate fishing nations," he added.
Other issues being addressed at CCAMLR, which ends this week,
include the impacts of longline fisheries on seabirds and other marine
wildlife. Longlines, used to catch toothfish, are responsible for large
scale deaths of seabirds. Illegal toothfish fishery alone is estimated to kill
between 45,000 to 145,000 seabirds - including threatened albatrosses
and petrels.
CCAMLR has 23 member states who have fishing interests in the region.
Its aim is to prevent overexploitation of fish and krill in the Southern
Ocean, as well as to prevent harmful impacts from fishingon the entire
Antarctic marine ecosystem.
Contact:
Someshwar Singh at WWF International's Conservation News
Service at (41) 22-364-9553.