Title:
US, EU to Increase Fight Against Illegal Fishing
Description: This is
a VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
See text below
Text:
European Union officials estimate that twenty
percent of all fish are caught illegally. They say
honest fishermen and their communities lose as much
as twenty-three billion dollars worth of seafood
every year. The European Union and the United States
are among the world's largest importers of seafood.
In September they signed a joint agreement in
Washington to increase cooperation against fish
piracy. The problem is also known as illegal,
unreported and unregulated fishing, or IUU.Jane
Lubchenco, the under secretary of commerce for
oceans and atmosphere, signed the agreement for the
United States. Maria Damanaki, the commissioner for
maritime affairs and fisheries, signed it for the
European Union.They said the European Union and the
United States are starting to identify illegal
fishing ships and bar them from their ports.
Countries are taking measures to document imported
fish, they said. And they promised to seek stronger
enforcement of fishery management measures. Gerald
Leape is senior officer for international policy at
the Pew Environment Group in Washington. Mr. Leape
says pirate fishing exists only because illegal
operators find a place to sell their fish. "The
pirate fishermen undermine any attempt at achieving
sustainable fisheries. They undermine the efforts of
those fishermen who are playing by the rules to
legally market the fish they catch." Illegal fishing
reduces market prices, making it harder for those
who follow the law to compete. It can also increase
the risk that fisheries will collapse. Three billion
people depend on seafood as their main source of
protein. Ms. Lubchenco said the millions of tons of
seafood pirated each year may represent as much as
forty percent of the total catch in some fisheries.
The new agreement aims for greater action by
governments to prevent illegal operators from making
a profit. For example, port officials can prevent
them from landing at their ports to sell their
catch. Gerald Leape says honest fishermen are not
the only ones affected by the actions of fish
pirates. "They undermine the efforts of scientists
to set quotas to make sure that stocks of fish do
not go extinct. And they undermine those regulators
who are trying to determine who should catch what,
and how to divide up what should be a sustainably
managed catch. These are pirates in the truest sense
of the word. They are literally stealing the fish."
For VOA Special English, I'm Alex Villarreal.
Hi. I
personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
To post a comment:
• Click "Comment using..." in
the window below
• Click your favorite service: Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail
• Login to the service
• Click "Add a comment..."
• Post your comment in the window
Students: Please post a
comment stating what you found interesting about this video. You are
welcome to include links to your English study blogs and any
other materials you think might be useful for learning
English.
Teachers: Please post your
thoughts about this video. You are welcome to include links to
your sites, blogs, and any other materials you think might
be useful for learning English.
Hi. I
personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
