Poachers of the ocean, get ready to suffer! The Organisation of the United Nations for feeding and agriculture (FAO) informed that the plan of international treaty on the illegal peach is on the right track.

At the end of January, the representatives of sixty countries met in Rome, in the office of the FAO, to move forward the writing of the text, the first throw of which is finished from now on. The treaty offers to prevent the ships which practice an illegal peach to come back into harbours to unload their goods there.

The illegal peach is more and more frequent on the oceans of the globe. The poachers target generally waters of the Third World countries, which struggle, needs means to watch their maritime domain. Because the control of the illegal peach asks for means, for satellites, air and of boats of intervention.

To slow down these illegal activities, which contribute to the disappearance of many kinds of fish, the FAO offers to aim at the poachers at the wallet, by preventing them from docking to disembark and to sell their catches. The text offers that every ship which transports the fish will have to request a permission to accost, having given indications on its cargo, its origin, the permissions of peach, etc. Also, to be able to restock by carburizing and in supplies, the captains of ships of peach will have to show white leg. In case of doubt, the harbour authorities will be able to refuse to receive the ship.

The institution of a treaty, which will again have to be refined before being voted in the authorities of the UNO, is not the panacea. History showed that even in the countries who controls the entrance of ships, of illegal fish is very often whitened in lawful cargoes which are off-loaded. The imagination of the poachers of the sea is endless, and him their catches in more discreet ships, in open sea do not hesitate to transship not to be spotted.

Since 2005, the FAO tries to help developing countries to control better what enters their harbours. The organisation drives an important effort of sensitisation and of training of the political authorities, but also the representatives for fishings and for harbours. A step which stumbles over disorganisation and corruption who hit many countries.

The poachers fish regardless quotas, often by using types of very destructive nets which were forbidden to preserve the supplies of peach. Notably from palangres who decimates the population of some seabirds, and drift nets reputed to kill many Cetaceas and turtles. According to the FAO, the illegal catches of fish can represent until 30 % lawful tonnages. The market of the underground peach would exceed ten thousand million euro in the planetary ladder. The wholesale trade of illegal catches is most often intended in the Asia, but all countries are concerned, even the European Union which declared war in 2008 in this prohibited activity.

The thousands of ships which fish without permission threaten a little more a fishery resource already very shaken by the lawful peach, and it is heavy of consequences for the life of the fishermen who respect law.

Picture: Rock fish (monkfish) © Denis Delbecq