Every year, millions of tons of fish are accidentally caught and discarded. A staggering 100 million sharks are considered such "bycatch" each year, often the result of net entanglement. Bycatch not only affects marine ecosystems but also the millions of people who rely on healthy fish stocks for food and employment.
 

EJF CAMPAIGNS

  • To highlight the illegal use of driftnets in the Mediterranean.
  • To ensure that European fishing vessels operating in distant waters of Africa and Asia are subject to regulations of a comparable standard to vessels operating in European waters.
  • To develop an International Plan of Action on Bycatch Reduction pressing governments to take immediate action to reduce bycatch in all fisheries.
  • Reduce bycatch in tropical shrimp trawl fisheries.
 
 
"It is vital that we source our fish sustainably, and not be responsible for the theft of fish and livelihoods in countries that cannot afford to lose them. Pirate fishing is not a problem without a solution; what needs to be done is well known, and very possible. It is now up to the governments of Europe, and also all of us as consumers and chefs, to act quickly to stop illegal fishing."
Tom Aikens, chef