[ti:An International Treaty Targets Fishing Abuses] [ar:Jim Tedder] [al:Agriculture Report] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]This is the VOA Special English [00:02.85]Agriculture Report. [00:05.02]Some pirates catch fish instead of ships. [00:10.69]The problem is known as illegal, [00:13.61]unreported and unregulated fishing. [00:17.47]Such fishing harms [00:19.02]the productivity of fisheries, [00:21.51]and hurts developing countries especially. [00:25.24]The fish pirates can easily land [00:28.35]in ports that are not well controlled. [00:31.34]Then they sell their catch [00:33.45]at prices too low [00:35.38]for the local fishing industry to compete. [00:38.99]The catch may enter international markets, [00:42.29]yet rob communities of needed food [00:45.46]and raise the risk of fishery collapse. [00:49.19]But last month, [00:51.74]the governing conference [00:53.61]of the United Nations Food [00:55.47]and Agriculture Organization [00:57.40]approved a new treaty. [00:59.89]The agreement, [01:01.44]once it takes effect, [01:02.63]will be the first [01:04.06]under international law [01:05.74]to target just this problem. [01:08.72]It has a long name: [01:10.47]the Agreement on Port [01:12.70]State Measures to Prevent, [01:15.13]Deter and Eliminate Illegal, [01:18.12]Unreported and Unregulated Fishing. [01:21.66]The F.A.O. says that [01:23.90]by signing the treaty, [01:25.39]governments promise [01:27.01]to take steps to guard their ports [01:29.62]against ships involved [01:31.92]in such fishing. [01:33.67]The behavior of a fishing boat [01:36.09]is mainly the responsibility [01:38.61]of the nation whose flag it flies. [01:41.69]The new treaty [01:43.12]is directed at countries [01:44.74]where fishing ships enter port. [01:47.60]The aim is to get the countries [01:49.72]to identify, report and [01:52.76]deny entry to offending vessels. [01:55.81]To land, foreign fishing ships [01:58.55]will have to request permission [02:00.97]from ports that are able [02:02.78]to inspect them. [02:04.21]And before they arrive, [02:06.32]they will have to send information [02:08.44]on their activities [02:10.30]and the fish they are carrying. [02:12.48]If a ship is denied entry, [02:15.34]other ports will be told. [02:17.65]And the nation whose flag [02:19.76]it is sailing under must take action. [02:23.62]The agreement will take effect [02:26.17]once twenty-five countries [02:28.53]have ratified it into law [02:30.65]after signing it. [02:32.14]Eleven members of the Food [02:34.75]and Agriculture Organization [02:36.93]immediately signed the treaty. [02:39.98]They included Angola, Brazil, [02:44.02]Chile, the European Union, [02:46.82]Indonesia and Iceland. [02:49.74]The others were Norway, [02:52.23]Samoa, Sierra Leone, [02:55.15]the United States and Uruguay. [02:58.20]Activists with the Pew Environment Group say [03:02.77]countries should use the measures [03:05.42]even before the treaty takes effect. [03:08.96]The group notes that [03:10.89]a past fishing treaty [03:12.94]took almost ten years [03:15.25]to come into force. [03:17.30]But the director of [03:19.66]international law programs [03:21.84]at Southern Illinois University [03:24.51]is more hopeful. [03:26.32]Cindy Buys thinks the treaty [03:29.43]might take effect in [03:31.05]only about a year. [03:32.91]But she points out that [03:35.65]the success of the treaty depends [03:38.20]on the ability of nations to enforce it. [03:41.81]And that's the VOA Special English [03:44.73]Agriculture Report, [03:46.29]written by Jerilyn Watson. [03:48.49]You can find transcripts [03:50.64]at 51voa.com. I'm Jim Tedder.