Albania has signed today an agreement to ban illegal fishing.
The agreement was signed between the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Water Management and FAO with the support of the Norwegian Foreign Ministry.
The main objective of the Agreement is to prevent, detect and eliminate illegal fishing by not allowing fishing vessels who signed the agreement to use ports of Albania for fishing.The agreement was signed by USA, EU, and 20 other countries in the world.
The implementation of the agreement contributes to long-term storage of marine resources and marine ecosystems. Also this agreement brings several advantages:
- Prevents illegal fishing and increase the efficiency of the fishing fleet;
- Formalises the fishing business and protects the rights of legal activity;
- Increased state control over the fishing fleet;
- Improves fisheries management at all levels and meeting the international standards.
Unreported and illegal fishing is a serious threat to the efficient management of fish resources.
On a global scale, is estimated at around 26 million tons in one year, worth about 23 billion dollars from illegal fishing activity.