U.N. urges foreign fishing fleets to halt "ocean grabbing" [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Reuters

U.N. urges foreign fishing fleets to halt "ocean grabbing"
Tue, 30 Oct 2012 11:08 GMT
Source: reuters // Reuters

* Report says small-scale fishing needs promoting

* Says rules governing access to waters need tightening

By Alister Doyle

OSLO, Oct 30 (Reuters) - "Ocean grabbing" or aggressive industrial fishing by foreign fleets is a threat to food security in developing nations where governments should do more to promote local, small-scale fisheries, a study by a U.N. expert said on Tuesday.

The report said emerging nations should tighten rules for access to their waters by an industrial fleet that is rapidly growing and includes vessels from China, Russia, the European Union, the United States and Japan.

"Ocean-grabbing is taking place," Olivier de Schutter, the U.N. special rapporteur on the right to food and the report's author, told Reuters. "It's like land-grabbing, just less discussed and less visible."

~snip~

De Schutter said ocean grabbing involved "shady access agreements that harm small-scale fishers, unreported catch, incursions into protected waters, and the diversion of resources away from local populations."


Read more: http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/un-urges-foreign-fishing-fleets-to-halt-ocean-grabbing