Pacific Lose millions in illegal fishing

Illegal fishing boats burnt by PNG Soldiers last year

A new report has revealed that poor Pacific Island countries are losing millions of Dollars to illegal fishing.
The Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency, says Illegal Unreported and Unregulated tuna-fishing-deprived-Pacific nations, heavily rely on rich territorial stocks of more than 600 million US Dollars each year.
The report also sates that overall, Pacific tuna worth more than 1-billion US Dollars on the retail market, is illegally caught.
Using economic rent calculations, the report estimates that the actual loss to Pacific Island countries from lost fishing access revenues, is around 152-million Dollars.
Forum Fisheries Agency director-general, James Movick, says previous estimates suggests that over 20-percent of the total regional catch, with a value of up to 1-point-5 billion U-S Dollars in 2007, was being stolen.
He adds that in the regional tuna fishery, an estimated 616-million Dollars is now associated with illegal practices, representing around 12-percent. NBC / ONE PNG