The European Commission on Thursday welcomed the measures recently adopted by the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Living Marine Resources (CCAMLR) to fight illegal fishing in the area around the Antarctic.

CCAMLR members will now have to investigate and where appropriate take action against any of their nationals suspected of engaging in illegal fishing activities within the area managed by CCAMLR based in Hobart, Australia.

The scheme is not limited to the capture phase, but also covers the whole chain of fishing activity, including transhipment, transport and marketing.

Members must cooperate with one another in providing information that is necessary for successful investigations, and must provide timely reports to the CCAMLR secretariat on any actions they have taken under the scheme.

The measure was proposed by the European Union (EU), and adopted by consensus.

CCAMLR is a regional fisheries management organization responsible for the conservation and harvesting of living marine resources in the waters around Antarctica.

It currently has 24 members, including the EU, and eight EU member states -- Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and Sweden.

"This decision in CCAMLR represents a major step forward in fighting illegal fishing activities in the Antarctic. I am delighted that by agreeing to our proposal CCAMLR members have demonstrated that regional fisheries management organizations are capable of taking truly effective and compulsory governance measures," said EU commissioner for fisheries and maritime affairs, Joe Borg.

CCAMLR members will have to transpose the new scheme into their national legislation by July 1, 2008 at the latest.

Source: Xinhua