Chile becomes first Latin American country to sign Norway’s declaration against illegal fishing

SANTIAGO/OSLO – Chile has become the first Latin American nation to sign Norway’s declaration against illegal fishing, the Norwegian government has announced.

“Norway has initiated an international declaration against fishing crime and I am pleased that the support around this is increasing,” said Norway’s minister of fisheries, Harald Nesvik.

He met the Chilean deputy minister of fisheries and aquaculture, Roman Zelaya, at the AquaNor exhibition in Trondheim, Norway last week, the UnderCurrent News reported.

“Chile is the first Latin American country to sign the declaration. They have large ocean areas and are responsible for significant fishing resources, and I am glad that they support our fight against fisheries crime. And I hope more of their neighboring countries will follow suit,” said Nesvik.

Fifteen other states from Europe, Africa, and the Pacific have joined the Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing declaration, which was presented at a conference on fisheries crime last fall.