Greenpeace's Duncan Currie stated the gillnet ban must be absolute and long-lasting. (Photo: IISD)

Gillnets ban may hit the South Pacific

AUSTRALIA
Friday, November 13, 2009, 23:50 (GMT + 9)

Gillnets, or deep-sea fishing nets, may soon be banned in the South Pacific. They are already banned in European waters, and Australia and New Zealand are calling for the same measures.

These countries began to push for the change after discovering that two Spanish vessels had been fishing with the 100km-long nets in their waters earlier this year. The vastly destructive gillnets are used to target groundfish and other species and produce enormous amounts of by-catch.

Australia, Chile, New Zealand and other countries have been trying to negotiate a treaty to manage fish stocks in the South Pacific over the past three years. They wish to develop the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (RFMO), a new fisheries management body that would establish appropriate controls.

The body would exert jurisdiction from the far eastern part of the South Indian Ocean through the Pacific towards South America. These are all areas where marine life is vulnerable to illegal and over-fishing due to a lack of governance.

"Negotiations are still continuing on the proposal," stated Australian Agriculture Minister Tony Burke, reports AAP. "Australia has been heartened by the level of international support shown so far."

The gillnet ban must be absolute and long-lasting to make sure it’s effective, said Greenpeace's Duncan Currie.

"These things do have to be watched very carefully," he noted. "Unfortunately the history of fishing shows that if boats think a buck can be made then they will try to use whatever sort of loophole to come down here."

Gerard Van Bohemen, head of the New Zealand delegation to an Auckland meeting held on treaty talks, said he hopes the participating countries will institute a voluntary ban on gillnets by Saturday. Representatives from Greenpeace and Environment and Conservation Organisations (ECO) at the talks claimed the ban was essentially a "done deal."

The eighth international meeting to discuss the establishment of the South Pacific RFMO will bring an announcement this weekend.

The gillnet ban would go into effect by February 2010.

Related articles:

- Concern about use of gillnets to be addressed with EU
- FAO approves creation of new RFMO
- New norms govern high-seas jack mackerel, mackerel

By Natalia Real
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

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