Reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, which governs the EU fleet, is expected to EU fishing vessel operating outside EU waters must conform to the same standards as in Europe’s waters. WWF-UK made the demand as it published a new study showing that commercial fishing fleets globally are expanding their range and fishing more intensively.
According to a study more than 700 EU flagged fishing vessels now exploit fisheries outside of Europe. Even the areas affected by non sustainable fishing vessels have also increased tenfold since the 1950s. Fishing in foreign waters is led by Spain, whose 424 vessels make up 59 percent of the EU fleet operating in other countries’ “exclusive economic zones” or on the high seas.
The conservation group said that advanced technology and government subsidies made the EU fleet more mobile than most global fishing outfits, enabling their vessels to travel to the further corners of the world to fish and exploit new fishing areas. Giles Bartlett, fisheries policy officer at WWF-UK, said that it may surprise many people to learn that a number of UK-registered boats, along with hundreds of others from across Europe, are operating as far away as the Indian Ocean and south Atlantic to catch fish.
