Illegal Fishing Getting Tougher As Japan and Russia Crack Down
Illegal, Unregulated, and Unreported (“IUU”) fishing operations will now have two fewer countries to dump their fish in — Japan now requires a “certificate of legal catch” from a foreign government if a company from that country wants to sell its fish in Japan. And the Russian government ratified a treaty that allows them to inspect fish at the dock and refuse to block entry to fishing vessels known to be involved in illegal fishing.
Why This Matters: Japan’s market is one of the largest in the world and its new law is seen as pivotal in fighting illegal fishing. Russia’s ratification of the treaty on blocking illegal fish is good news because Russia was one of the few industrial fishing nations that had not signed on to the treaty.
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