LRC COLONIAL FISHERY AUTHORITIES PLEAD GUILTY TO EUROPEAN COMMISSION BAN
A Week After A Ban On Seafood Purchase From LRC, Authorities Are Quiet
Fraud, corruption, and irregularities are the guiding principles on which the Biya-led colonial government operates. These vices have eaten deep into the fabric of La Republique du Cameroun and systematically transferred from one generation to another. The European Commission has banned the importation of seafood from LA Republique du Cameroun, accusing her of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. The European Commission on Thursday banned imports of seafood caught in Cameroon’s waters or caught by ships flagged there, and it labeled the West African country as “non-cooperating” in the fight against illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.
One week now since the ban, the fishing colonial authorities in charge of fishing in LRC haven't altered a word. Isn't their silence a piece of evidence that they are guilty?After all, silence means consent. The commission gave LRC a so-called “red card” and said EU member states would turn away seafood shipments from La Republique du Cameroun even when it has catch certificates validated by the national authorities. LRC is one of four non-EU countries that are currently on the commission’s “red card” list, alongside St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Comoros, and Cambodia. The country has in recent years emerged as one of several countries that offer “flags of convenience” where companies can — for a fee — register their ships in a nation that has no links to the vessel.
Last year, The Associated Press investigated 14 vessels registered in LRC that had been accused of illegal and unregulated fishing and found that they were owned or managed by companies based in EU member states. The European Commission said illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing is “one of the most serious threats to the sustainable exploitation of living aquatic resources.” “We have zero tolerance for IUU fishing and therefore the Commission has acted strongly today by giving Cameroon a red card,” said the European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans, and Fisheries, Virginijus S.
A spokesperson For La Republique du Cameroun’s illegal Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries could not be reached for comment. The ban by the commission comes nearly two years after it urged LRC's authorities to step up its action against illegal fishing. The Commission estimates as much as 26 tons of fish are caught illegally each year, comprising about 15 percent of the world’s total catch. Illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing is worth between 10 billion and 20 billion euros each year
