Perhaps the world’s most notorious ‘Port of Convenience’, Las Palmas in Spain’s Canary Islands serves as both the logistical base and market entry point for illegally-caught fish from West Africa
All fishing vessels must at some point visit a port to land their catch, refuel and take on provisions, and illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) vessels are no exception. Regulating access to port facilities states can therefore be a highly effective way of controlling IUU fishing. However, certain ports fail to do so and the existence of such ‘Ports of Convenience’ is seen as one of the major reasons that IUU fishing continues to occur.
The Spanish harbour of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is a major Port of Convenience, providing services to pirate fishing fleets operating off the coast of West Africa, and hosting a number of companies that operate IUU vessels. Due to its status as a Free Economic Zone, companies located within the port have a variety of fiscal and customs advantages, many of which facilitate the illegal handling, transport and sale of illegally-caught fish. As a result Las Palmas serves as the soft entry point to the enormous European seafood market, and also as the major transport hub for illegal fish heading for other large seafood markets, such as those in East Asia. EJF investigations in the port have identified a number of vessels that utilise Las Palmas that have a history of illegal fishing (or are alleged to have illegally fished) in the waters of Guinea and Sierra Leone, providing a snapshot of the importance of the port to servicing pirate vessels. In 2006 EJF and Greenpeace investigators, after observing the illegal transhipment of fish in Guinean waters, followed the reefer Binar 4 (flying the flag of convenience of Panama) to Las Palmas, where it attempted to unload its illegal catch. EJF investigations have also documented boxes of fish caught by illegal vessels in West Africa in the UK marketplace, wrapped in packing tape that identified Las Palmas as the landing port. In West Africa, EJF collaborations with the Sierra Leone navy have led to the arrest of an illegal fishing vessel packed full of goods from the port. The wealth of evidence shows that there is little doubt that Las Palmas is directly culpable in facilitating pirate fishing operations up and down the West African coast. | ||||
The problems in Las Palmas are well known to relevant authorities, yet action has been slow.New EU regulations that are aimed to address IUU fishing are due to commence in 2010, which if properly implemented and enforced by the Spanish authorities should go a long way towards excluding illegal fish from entering the European market via the port. However, this regulation will not address pirate fish that is landed in Las Palmas for transport onwards to non-EU markets. As this type of fish is a significant proportion of the total, and demand for seafood in East Asian markets in particular continues to grow, it is unlikely that the EU regulation will stop Las Palmas from acting as a pirate fishing haven. EJF strongly believes an international Port Controls Treaty is crucial if Las Palmas is to be shut down once and for all. |
