http://news.yam.com/afp/life/200807/20080728831891.html
遏止非法撈捕 西班牙出動軍艦護漁
法新社╱郭無患 2008-07-28 14:20
（法新社西班牙維戈二十七日電）西班牙海軍派出配備長距離照相機，超精密電子設備以及飛行甲板上已備便直升機的巡防艦塔里法號，站在歐洲最前線，全力遏止非法捕撈已受到威脅的藍鰭鮪魚。
加強海上巡邏、衛星監視以及空中偵察飛行，不過是歐洲聯盟今年所採行史無前例部署措施的一部分，試圖掌控在地中海以及大西洋的漁人，保護藍鰭鮪魚這個遭到威脅的物種。
根據歐盟執行委員會官員所稱，藍鰭鮪魚價格不斷上漲，捕撈沒有停止的跡象；藍鰭鮪魚價格上漲主要出現在至少進口地中海捕撈量百分之七十的日本。
歐洲漁業管制署本月將新的總部設在西班牙維戈港，署長瓦斯康塞羅表示，追捕非法捕撈的漁人有如大海撈針，「因為沒有萬全辦法」。
不過，他仍面帶微笑地指出，由於採取若干措施，同樣也「增加了不少」機會。
以二零零八年的行動計畫為例，總共動員了四十九艘船隻、十六架飛機以及七十八名檢查人員，最大規模的一次行動在六月底進行，監視行動將持續到今年底。
經由衛星與雷達的追蹤資料分析，歐盟執行委員會於六月中旬下令停止在地中海大規模捕撈藍鰭鮪魚作業，較原定結束日期提早了半個月，這項決定引發法國和義大利漁民的強烈抗議，而兩國政府也都支持漁民的立場。
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080727/sc_afp/eufishenvironmenttunasecurityjapan_080727172836
Spanish warship joins battle to protect Europe's tuna stocks
by Yacine Le Forestier
Sun Jul 27, 1:28 PM ET
VIGO, Spain (AFP) - Equipped with long-range cameras and ultra-sophisticated electronic equipment, a helicopter stands ready on the deck of the Tarifa, a Spanish navy frigate at the forefront of Europe's attempts to rein in illegal fishing of the threatened bluefin tuna.
Increased sea patrols, satellite surveillance and reconnaissance flights are just some of the unprecedented steps the European Union has deployed this year to try to control fishermen in the Mediterranean and Atlantic -- and protect this threatened species.
But with prices soaring -- mainly in Japan which alone imports at least 70 percent of bluefin tuna caught in the Mediterranean, according to European Commission officials -- the chase shows no sign of ending.
Catching illegal fishermen in the act is a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack "because there is no foolproof system," said Marcelo Vasconcelos, the head of the European Fisheries Control Agency which inaugurated its new headquarters this month in the Spanish port of Vigo.
All the same, the chances have "increased a lot" because of the steps taken, he said with a smile.
For the 2008 campaign, 49 ships, 16 planes and 78 inspectors have been mobilised. The biggest operation was at the end of June, but monitoring will continue until the end of the year.
A control centre in Brussels gathers all the tracking data from satellites and radar.
"It has become hard to cheat these days," said Isabelle Perret, who is finishing her work at the centre.
The tracking, and the cross-checking of data between countries, led the European Commission -- the EU executive -- in mid-June to order a halt to large-scale tuna fishing in the Mediterranean, 15 days before it was due to end. The move triggered an outcry from French and Italian fishermen, who were backed by their governments.
-- Fisherman declare the catch, and the real catch --
The tuna vessels claimed they had caught only half their quotas. But the European inspectors were certain the quotas had been reached.
Surveillance has also detected boats spending up to 10 days at sea and then declaring nothing on their return -- a scenario that is considered hardly credible.
In another example two ships, one Spanish, the other French, were spotted fishing together to catch a school of tuna.
"The first declared twice the catch of the second. That's hard to believe when you know that at the end of the day they share the catch," said Cesar Deben, a top European Fisheries Commission official.
"The declared catch and the real catch, they're two different things."
Despite the tougher surveillance, the lure of money is proving even stronger.
The prices for bluefin tuna have been climbing for more than 10 years. On the wholesale markets, they tripled in just one year.
Japanese distributors, fond of bluefin for sushi, transport the fish direct by plane.
Faced with such demand, the number of fishing vessels far outweighs available fish stocks.
"The basic problem causing this fraud is the over-capacity of the fleet," said Cesar Deben.
European Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg believes it is time to start having real-time information on the catch.
For bluefin tuna "every day counts" when a fisherman can reach his quota in just one day.
"We are going to look into this problem in the 2009 season," he said, adding that officials are considering an electronic system of declaring catch details that would have to be filled in immediately and sent by satellite.
本城市首頁
看回應文章
等級：8
