Produits de la mer - n°171 - avril 2017 - 22

News ❘ THE QUESTION OF THE MONTH

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S. M.:: Identifying illegal fishing implies important investigation efforts but information concerning the results is too rarely
passed on to consumers. The latter implicitely expects the fish
to be caught in durable conditions.

Les procédures diffèrent d'un pays à l'autre,
certains saisissent les lots illicites, d'autres
les renvoient et ils sont toujours là."

Procedures
differ from one
country to the
other, some
seize the illegal
batches, others
send them back
and they are
still there."

Stéphanie Mathey,
Chargée de mission Ethic Ocean (ex-SeaWeb)
In charge of the Ethic Ocean project (ex-SeaWeb)

S. M. :: Le poids qui pèse sur l'importateur est déjà lourd. L'analyse
du risque suppose de répondre à de multiples questions. Ce métier
implique d'aller dans les ports d'origine ou dans les usines pour cerner au mieux les problèmes. Mieux vaut savoir ce que l'on achète.
Si le prix proposé est anormalement moins cher que les autres, il
y a là un indice. Le guide que nous
avons sorti (encadré p.18) pour lut« Transbordement
ter contre la pêche illégale facilite
la démarche de questionnement.
au large, pêche
Au professionnel, ensuite, d'adapillégale et
ter son plan de contrôle.

exploitation abusive
des marins vont
souvent ensemble »

Qu'attendez-vous de plus pour
combattre la pêche INN ?

A. L. : Davantage de volonté politique pour renforcer la transpaStéphanie Mathey
rence, échanger les données, éviter
la redondance entre les actions des
États, des ONG et des agences, mobiliser aussi des moyens. Cela
demande du temps mais ce temps est nécessaire pour lutter efficacement.
S. V. : Une collaboration internationale plus poussée et permanente, c'est fondamental. Convaincre les États, les importateurs
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❘ 22 ❘

PRODUITS DE LA MER N°171 AVRIL 2017

Stéphanie Mathey
S. V.:: I would like to speak of the
scarcity of resource: two billion
human beings rely on fish for
their protein supply. If IUU fishing continues in some areas,
there will be no resource any more. Conflicts will arise as well
as population migrations. Within this context, illegal fishing is
an aggravating factor of international disputes.

Is there a link between illegal fishing and species substitution?

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du pays, s'il n'a pas été mélangé dans l'usine avec d'autres provenances. Même les systèmes les plus précis sur le plan administratif n'arriveront pas à éviter ce genre de pratique. Nous avons choisi
l'efficacité en responsabilisant l'importateur. Le règlement américain s'appuie en parallèle sur des textes dissuasifs qui prévoient la
prison, le cas échéant.

A. L.:: By means of the NGO's work, abuse of IUU fishing get reported to the public. This concerns consumers but also banking and
insurance companies which could cover and fund the fishing
industry. Alerted on human trafficking issues, they fear the association of their image with illicit "Transhipment at sea,
activities when they are exposed.
illegal fishing and
There is also a risk to cover and
finance IUU fishing. Dismantling
labour exploitation
a network can entail the banoften go together."
kruptcy of financial institutions.

À savoir
❱ Les États
membres ont
pris plus de
200 décisions
de refus
d'importation
de black fish
dans l'UE
depuis 2010.

S. V.:: Species substitution is sometimes linked with illegal
fishing. Fishing can be authorized for a species and not for the
other which resembles it. All it takes is substituting the first
one with the second, it could be called fish laundering. This
happens everywhere, in ports, in fish auctions...
S. M.:: And during transhipments at sea. A "pirat" boat tranships
its catch on a "legal" boat.
What is the regulation approach of the United States?
S. V.:: The United States adopted an approach which is complementary to Europe's. European Union relies on the flag state to
counteract the problem. We base ourselves on import companies which must demonstrate, by their own means, that their
fish is legal, but without creating specific documents for all
that. A good stakeholder must have at its disposal a raw material bookkeeping worthy of the name, accompanied by an official document which, when asked for, testifies to the legality of
the product. The aim is not to create obstacles. This legal framework targets 15 species to limit the costs.
Yet, it is very easy to put a stamp on a document...
S. V.:: This actually happens. Let us take the example of a cargo
of 100 tons of whole fish which leaves the United States for another country to be processed, and comes back as fillets with a
proper catch certificate. The country where the processing takes
place must attest that the fish effectively comes from the legally
identified batch. But when the fish leaves the country again, it is
difficult to know if it has not been susbtituted with other origins
inside the factory. Even the most rigourous administration systems will not be able to prevent this type of practice. We chose
efficiency by rendering the import company aware of its responsabilities. American regulations rely in parallel on deterrent texts
which consider emprisonment if needs be.
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Table des matières de la publication Produits de la mer - n°171 - avril 2017