By Enyichukwu Enemanna
The European Commission on Thursday banned imports of seafood from Cameroon’s waters, or caught by ships flagged there, accusing the West African country of not being supportive in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
The commission said it gave Cameroon a red card and said EU member states would not accept seafood shipments from Cameroon despite issuing catch certificates to the country.
The European Commission said illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing is “one of the most serious threats to the sustainable exploitation of living aquatic resources.”
“We have zero tolerance for IUU fishing and therefore the Commission has acted strongly today by giving Cameroon a red card,” said the European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius.
Cameroon is one of four non-EU countries that are currently on the commission’s “red card” list, alongside St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Comoros and Cambodia.
The country has in recent years emerged as one of several countries that offer “flags of convenience” where companies can — for a fee — register their ships in a nation that has no links to the vessel.
Last year, 14 vessels registered in Cameroon were accused of illegal and unregulated fishing and it was found that they were owned or managed by companies based in EU member states, The Associated Press investigation reveals.
A spokesperson for Cameroon’s Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries was yet to react to the development.
Thursday’s ban by the commission comes nearly two years after it urged Cameroonian authorities to step up its action against illegal fishing.
The Commission estimates as much as 26 tons of fish are caught illegally each year, comprising about 15 percent of the world’s total catch.
Illegal, unreported or unregulated fishing is worth between 10 billion and 20 billion euros each year.
