The news report states that the 5th International Forum on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing, hosted by Chatham House in London, has seen much discussion of the new EU rules governing the regulation of IUU fishing that will come into place on the 1st January 2010.
Cliff Morrison of the EU Fish Processors Association said that before legislation comes into force many loose-ends have yet to be tied up. According to him problems are that the Implementing Regulations are still in draft, guidance notes on the regulations are awaited, many third countries are still to submit their competent authorities to DG Mare, and it is still not clear who the competent authorities will be across all EU Member States.
New regulations are designed to combat the very source of IUU fishing and it has been universally supported at the conference. It is said that the creation of significant new burdens on exporters has been sharply criticised. Roy Bross of the South African Deep-Sea
Trawling Industry Association blasted the EU for introducing considerable administrative costs, particularly in relation to catch certificates. There are now less than fifty working days until the new rules come into play, and only 36 third countries have their export licences in order. It is expected that 120 nations will be exporting to the EU, so a significant backlog remains.
