– In a world facing a food crisis, illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing undermines efforts to conserve and sustainably manage fish stocks, and has severe negative effects on food security, said Wetland.
It is difficult to determine the precise scale of this waste, because discarded fish are generally not registered or reported. Discards are therefore also a major source of error when total catches are being calculated, and it undermines the knowledge base for determining allowable catch.
Wetland pointed out that in Norway’s view, it is time to develop an International Plan of Action to reduce or eliminate discards, and that Norway will take the initiative to develop such a plan in the framework of FAO.
In addition to focus on illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, Ambassador Morten Wetland also talked about the treats of climate changes to the marine environment and the interest to all states that the outer limits of the continental shelves beyond 200 nautical miles are accurately defined.