Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing is threatening and killing sea life. Illegal fishing is conducted in a country’s seas without permission and has various negative environmental, economic and social impacts. Illegal fishing contributes toward overfishing and affects the sustainability of legal fisheries.
Illegal fishing means more ghost gear:
Ghost gear refers to abandoned fishing gear, which is left behind and forgotten by both legal and illegal fishers.
There are two ways ghost gear contributes to unhealthy oceans:
Some illegal fishers throw their gear into the water to avoid being caught or to avoid being denied entry to a port.
Some fishers fish during the night in conditions that make it more likely to lose their nets.
Facts & Figures:
640,000 tonnes of ghost gear are left in the world’s oceans each year, which entangles and kills around 136,000 whales, turtles, birds, seals and other sea animals.
Over 34% of the world’s fisheries are overfished, while 60% are fished to their maximum capacity.
Global losses from illegal fishing are estimated to be between $10 billion and $23.5 billion per year.
Between 11 million and 26 million tonnes of fish are caught illegally per annum.
The consequences of overfishing:
Illegal and unreported fishing must be stopped, as it contributes to the harm and death of marine life and damages marine ecosystems. Coastal communities are more vulnerable, as they rely on the ocean for their livelihoods. Those small-scale fishers that follow the regulations often lose out when there are no fish left.
What is WWF doing to stop illegal fishing?
WWF is an international non-governmental organization that aims to prevent and eliminate unregulated fishing. WWF also ensures that EU member states are applying effective controls on the seafood they import to guarantee their legality. WWF also holds the European Commission to its position as an international leader to set an example for sustainable fishing practices worldwide.
What can you do to help?
Read our blogs to stay informed and tell friends and family about them.
Encourage others to respect the oceans.
If you enjoy fishing, make sure you fish sustainably and encourage those around you to do the same.
Purchase seafood products that have been caught legally to ensure sustainability.
References:
Further Reading:
Overfishing is obviously already a problem, illegal fishing is even worse because it’s really difficult to control and has the same bad sides of the normal fishing, but increased.