Source: The Guardian
A new international initiative to crack down on illegal fishing practices is set to be launched later today.
Interpol‘s Project Scale is designed to help authorities combat illegal fishing activities estimated to be worth between $10bn and $23bn a year, such as harvesting of prohibited species, and fishing out-of-season, over set quotas, or without a licence.
The international policy agency said an escalation of transnational and organised criminal networks engaged in fisheries crime over the last decade has contributed to world stocks becoming increasingly depleted and pushed valuable species towards extinction.
An estimated 75 per cent of Europe’s stocks are overfished, prompting MEPs to approve new rules protecting fish stocks earlier this month.
Continue reading: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/feb/26/interpol-fisheries-crime