Brussels Conference | Lisbon Conference
9 September 1998-Brussels, Belgium
WWF releases a new report at news conference
A Summary and Report on the Footprint of Distant Water Fishing Fleets on World Fisheries
New WWF Report Finds Overcapacity, Subsidies to Blame
A new WWF report, entitled The Footprint of Distant Water Fleets on World Fisheries, finds
that the size and catching power of distant water fleets grew enormously after World War II,
fuelled by government subsidies and new markets for frozen fish. The declaration of
200-mile exclusive economic zones by most coastal nations in the 1970's severely limited
the availability of new fishing grounds. Since then, distant water fleets have had to scramble
for access to rich coastal waters or take their chances on the increasingly crowded high seas.
According to recent estimates, the world's top fishing nations, including China, Japan, the United
States, the Russian Federation, Norway, Korea, and the European Union, pay between $15 and $50
billion each year in fishing subsidies. Many of these subsidies support already overcapitalized distant water fleets. In 1996, for example, the EU spent $252 million on access agreements for its distant water fleets alone. According to the WWF report more than 90 percent of subsidies to the fishing industry are administered in violation of current international trade rules.
On the high seas, unregulated distant water fleets take a heavy toll on remote, unprotected
fisheries. A new WWF video news release shows distant water vessels from a number of countries
caught plundering rich stocks of Patagonian toothfish, also known as Chilean sea bass, in the
Southern Ocean around Antarctica. The remoteness of this area allows poachers to operate with
virtual impunity.
For more information and a copy of the WWF report, contact:
Leigh Ann Hurt, WWF's Endangered Seas Campaign, tel +44 1483 419294
Martin Hiller, WWF European Policy Office, tel +32 2 743 8806