by John Oyuke
The European Union (EU) will enforce a new regulation that will affect fishing industries in Africa, a new study says.
The Commonwealth Secretariat study says EU’s Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) regulation will be implemented in January next year putting strict conditions on countries that want to maintain access to the trading bloc’s market.
EU is the largest consumer of fish in the world, accounting for around 40 per cent of global imports.
Such is the continent’s appetite for fish, that the cumulative net fish exports from developing countries now exceed earnings from coffee, bananas and rubber.
However, Prof Martin Tsamenyi, co-author of the study says the near-unfettered access to the European market for developing countries is set to end with the adoption of the new legislation.
"Consignments of fish caught after January 1, next year to be exported to EU countries without a validated catch certificate will be refused entry," the Director of the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security said.
He said under the new rules, which include the adoption of portal controls on fishing vessels and the creation of a list of approved vessels and a list of non-cooperating third countries, only nations that are free of IUU fishing will have full access to EU consumers.
Tsamenyi described the regulation as a "double-edged sword" for major fish exporting regions such as Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP), which export 60 per cent of their fish products to the EU.
"Research shows these countries are the most vulnerable to global impacts of IUU fishing," he said, noting that some ACP states lose millions of dollars to outlawed fishing practices.
The regulation will be enforced a month after Africa Union Commission (AUC) holds the first conference of African ministers of fisheries on December 1-4, this year.
Bilateral fish agreements
The latter meeting will negotiate and implement bilateral fisheries agreements between EU member states.
In the commonwealth study, Fairer Fishing, Prof Tsamenyi and his co-authors show the adjustment process for exporting countries is likely to be "very challenging" without the additional technical support.
Many countries could be excluded entirely from the European market, with long-term implications on trade relations and status, according to the publication.
The authors say while measures to combat IUU fishing are welcome, developing countries should not be disproportionately burdened with combating it.
Veniana Qalo, Economic Adviser at the Commonwealth Secretariat, says the book should help countries "think practically" to ensure their fishing industries are not damaged once the regulation comes into force.
Commercial interests
"Any unilateral regulation which is not necessarily negotiated globally has the commercial interest of the country or regional organisation that drafts it in mind — that is to say the EU," she said.
"We wanted to stimulate discussion on the issues that ACP fisheries exporters face — how the regulation will affect them and whether it might restrict market access," Qalo observed.
-—oyuke@standardmedia.co.ke
