Fish stocks have sharply declined, says UNEP

Fish catches on the West African coast have declined sharply declined and some species have completely disappeared, the United Nations Environment Programme reported on Friday. The decline, it added, was linked to over-fishing by foreign fleets.

In Mauritania, UNEP reported, catches of octopus fell by at least 50 percent in the last four years while local people employed in the traditional octopus fishery reduced from 5,000 in 1996 to 1,800 in 2002.

"A preliminary study of Mauritania, where European Union, Japanese and Chinese boats have access to fishing grounds, has found that species such as sawfish have disappeared", UNEP said. At least 251 industrial, factory-style, foreign vessels operate in Mauritania.

The UNEP report titled: "Well Managed Fisheries Vital for Environmentally Friendly Development in Poor Parts of the Globe: Studies from Mauritania, Argentina and Senegal Point to Pitfalls and Possible Solutions for Balancing Trade and Environment Concerns", was due to be discussed on Friday at a meeting of 100 experts in Geneva on Friday.

The experts were also to discuss "the links between international trade and subsidies, and their social and environmental impacts", UNEP said. Findings from Mauritania, it added, alongside other studies of Senegal and Argentina, show that strict safeguards must be in place before fishing activities were increased or foreign fleets invited in.

"Country studies, including Mauritania, not only shed important light on the damage that can be caused by unregulated trade liberalization, but point to actions needed so that trade in fish contributes to development and sustains marine ecosystems," Hussein Abaza, Head of UNEP's Economic and Trade Branch said.

[The report can be found at http://www.unep.ch.]