EU warns Philippines, Papua New Guinea over illegal fishing

The European Commission on Tuesday warned the Philippines and Papua New Guinea over insufficient action to fight illegal fishing, threatening them with further trade sanctions, according to an EU statement.

Both countries identified as non-cooperative in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, are being given a yellow card warning and a reasonable time to respond and take measures to rectify the situation.

European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Maria Damanaki said, "If half of the Western Pacific's tuna is exported to the EU, we cannot ignore illegal fishing activities in this region."

She urged the Philippines and Papua New Guinea to fight the practice "which puts the livelihoods of fishermen at risk", adding that "in the end, sustainability of fisheries in the Pacific Ocean means sustainability here in Europe, on our plates."

The Commission has also proposed an action plan for each country to address the shortcomings, such as lack of system of sanctions to deter IUU activities or lack of actions to address deficiencies in monitoring, controlling and surveillance of fisheries.

The countries need to amend their legal framework to combat IUU fishing, improve control and monitoring actions and take a proactive role in complying with international law rules, the statement said.

Should the situation not improve within six months, the EU could take further steps, which could entail trade sanctions on fisheries imports.

The decision is based on the EU's IUU Regulation, which entered into force in 2010, aiming at allowing access to the EU market only to fisheries products that have been certified as legal by the flag State concerned. 
Sources: Xinhua -  globaltimes.cn
11/6/14
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Related:

• EU takes concrete action against illegal fishing. -European Commission

• Less is More: We Need a Global Strategy to End Fishing Overcapacity

• Ευρωπαϊκή «κίτρινη κάρτα» σε 8 κράτη για παράνομη αλιεία

• Today, the European Commission stepped up its action to fight illegal fishing worldwide by warning eight third countries that they risk being identified as countries it considers non-cooperative in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU). The countries in question are: Belize, Cambodia, Fiji, Guinea, Panama, Sri Lanka, Togo and Vanuatu. 

Two strong earthquakes 7.2 and 6.8 magnitude strike off Papua New Guinea coast . Pacific Tsunami Warning Center: tsunami warning none, not issued (VIDEO YT)

A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck off the coast of Papua New Guinea, local time 04:35:31, the United States Geological Survey has confirmed. 

The quake was centered 110 km East Northeast of Taron, 164 km E of Namatanai, Papua New Guinea  and had a depth of 378.8 km (235.4 mi). There have been no immediate reports of damage or injury. A tsunami warning was not issued following the massive quake.

7-7-13
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Magnitude Mw 7.2 Region NEW IRELAND REGION, P.N.G. Date time 2013-07-07 18:35:31.0 UTC Location 3.97 S ; 153.88 E Depth 383 km Distances 902 km NW of Honiara, Solomon Islands / pop: 56,298 / local time: 05:35:31.0 2013-07-08 184 km E of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea / pop: 26,273 / local time: 04:35:31.0 2013-07-08 164 km E of Namatanai, Papua New Guinea / pop: 1,376 / local time: 04:35:31.0 2013-07-08

Source parameters reviewed by a seismologist

More information at:  USGS/NEIC Denver, USA  GeoForschungsZentrum (GEOFON) Potsdam, Germany

Tsunami information at:  Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre  Hawai, USA

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M6.8 .... local time: 06:30:09.....29 km NE of Kandrian, Papua New Guinea ....Depth 80 km

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M7.2 ....LOCAL TIME 4: 35:31