Canadian PM speaks out against overfishing

The desperate state of the world's oceans is one of the major environmental crises facing the world today, says Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin.

That's why battling overfishing and the depletion of the oceans is a cornerstone of his Liberal government's foreign policy, Martin told hundreds of delegates on the opening night of an international conference on high seas fisheries Sunday.

"Around the world, people agree that our oceans cannot be taken for granted any longer and that our fish stocks cannot be exploited to extinction," Martin told delegates from more than 40 nations.

Martin said he has spoken to leaders on every continent about overfishing and has raised it with the United Nations since taking office.

He said he has also proposed a multi-lateral committee of 20 nations that would promote action on overfishing and other issues.

"The future of our oceans and their resources depends on how well we work together today," Martin told the Conference on the Governance of High Seas Fisheries, a gathering of fisheries ministers, bureaucrats and experts from around the world.

"I am asking you to seize this historic occasion and begin the process to stop the rape of our fisheries and oceans once and for all," Martin said, appealing to delegates from nations including Indonesia, Japan, South Africa and the European Union.

The United Nations estimates that 52 per cent of the world's fisheries are at maximum exploitation and 24 per cent are over-exploited.

The UN believes about 30 per cent of the fishing in the world is illegal and unreported.

It is a global problem that requires a global response, Martin said.

"Canadians are more than frustrated at the lack of progress that the international community is making to stop overfishing," Martin said.

Foreign overfishing has long been a source of anger in Newfoundland, where just last week crab fishermen, who were protesting another issue, briefly surrounded a Portuguese ship they say is guilty of overfishing in the Grand Banks.

Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams said leaders can no longer turn a blind eye to the ``unrelenting, unsustainable'' fishing practices around the world.

"Talking is the easy part," Williams said. "Acting can be much more difficult."

The only viable option is that Canada take custodial management of the international waters off the coast, he said.

Other nations' historic fishing rights would be honoured, Williams said.

But Canada would have the right to fully enforce fishing regulations the way it does in its own jurisdiction, he said.

A handful of protesters also showed up to the event.

They were surprised when Martin met with them briefly on his way into the conference.

They were from some of the dozens of environmental groups that weren't invited to the official event and held their own conference.

"The current system of fisheries management is not working," said Fred Winsor, a fisheries historian and one of the organizers.

They appealed to officials to ban deep-sea dragging as a means of fishing.

Source: www.canada.com