The European Commission on Thursday banned imports of seafood caught in Cameroonian waters or by vessels flying the Cameroonian flag and called the West African country “uncooperative” in the fight against illegal fishing. , undeclared and unregulated.
The Commission gave Cameroon a ‘red card’ and said EU partner states will reject imports of seafood from Cameroon even if it has catch certifications validated by national administrations.
The country mentioned before, is one in every 4 third nations present on the Commission’s “red card” list, together with Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Comoros and Cambodia.
In latest years, Cameroon has emerged as one of the many nations that offer “flags of convenience”, permitting agencies to register, in opposition to payment, their vessels in a rustic that has no reference to them.
Furthermore, The Associated Press analysed 14 Cameroon-registered ships that had been charged with unlawful and unregulated fishing and found they were held or supervised by companies based in EU member states.