We have agreed that we all must improve our vigilance by improving control at sea, control of transport and transhipment of fish, landings of fish as well as processing and sale of fish products.I am very pleased that we all take such interest in the question of how to combat the illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU-fishing), said the Norwegian minister of fishery and coastal affairs, Helga Pedersen, when the round table Conference on measures against IUU-fishing finished in Trondheim Monday.

In particular, the ministers noted that there is an apparent need to establish a transparent, common database at the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC), and that each nation therefore must be willing to give data on catches, landings and transhipment of fish in the NEAFC convention area, and thus also contribute to the implementation of agreed measures in the bilateral fisheries agreements amongst north-east-Atlantic states and parties. This, in my view, is the clearest statement we can make on international cooperation against IUU-fishing today, said minister Pedersen.

The ministers stressed in the Communiqué that IUU-fishing is nothing short of theft from legitimate fishermen which undermines conservation and management of fish stocks and the economic benefits for the legitimate users of the resources. The ministers agreed on a number of actions to combat IUU-fishing.

Ministers from Scotland, Portugal, Morocco, Sweden and Norway took part in the Conference. In addition to government representatives from Germany, Iceland, United Kingdom, and the EU.

•  Curbing IUU fishing: the status in Norway
  By Helga Pedersen, the Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs. The ministerial conference on illegal fishing in Trondheim - Monday 7 August, 2006
• Communiqué
  Round table Conference on measures against IUU fishing - Trondheim, Norway August 7th 2006