Fishing feud at end of the world split US and UK over Russia


PTI | Miami | Updated: 23-06-2022 01:05 IST | Created: 23-06-2022 01:03 IST
Fishing feud at end of the world split US and UK over Russia
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It's one of the world's highest-fetching wild-caught fish, sold for USD 32 a pound at Whole Foods and served up as meaty fillets on the menus of upscale eateries across the US.

But Russia's obstruction of longstanding conservation efforts, resulting in a unilateral rejection of catch limits for the Chilean sea bass in a protected region near Antarctica, has triggered a fish fight at the bottom of the world, one dividing longtime allies, the US and UK governments.

The diplomatic feud, which has not been previously reported, intensified after the UK quietly issued licenses this spring to fish for the sea bass off the coast of South Georgia, a remote, uninhabited UK-controlled island some 1,400 kilometers east of the Falkland Islands.

As a result, for the first time since governments banded together 40 years ago to protect marine life near the South Pole, deep-sea fishing for the pointy-toothed fish is proceeding this season without any catch limit from the 26-member Commission on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources or CCAMLR.

The move essentially transformed overnight one of the world's best-managed fisheries into a France-sized stretch of outlaw ocean — at least in the eyes of US officials threatening to bar UK imports from the area.

“In a world beset by conflict, the UK is playing a risky game,” said Will McCallum, head of oceans at Greenpeace UK.

“The history of Antarctic protection is one of peaceful cooperation for the common good of humanity. Russia's consistent willingness to abuse the process cannot excuse unilateral action by other Members. We trust that countries who have previously imported South Georgia toothfish will not accept the catch of what is now an unregulated fishery.” For decades, the fishery near South Georgia was a poster child for international fisheries cooperation, one that brought together sometimes adversarial powers like Russia, China and the US to protect the chilly, crystal blue southern ocean from the sort of fishing free-for-all seen on the high seas.

Last year, as tensions with the West were rising over Ukraine, Russia took the unprecedented step of rejecting the toothfish catch limits proposed by the Antarctic commission's scientists.

The move was tantamount to a unilateral veto because of rules, common to many international fisheries pacts, that require all decisions to be made by unanimous agreement.

But critics say the UK's response — issuing licenses without a CCAMLR-approved catch limit — is unlawful under the commission's rules and weakens the Antarctica Treaty established during the Cold War that set aside the continent as a scientific preserve.

US officials have also privately told their UK counterparts that they would likely bar imports of any toothfish caught near South Georgia, according to correspondence between US fisheries managers and members of Congress seen by The Associated Press.

The fight underscores how Russia's attempts to undermine the West have extended to even obscure forums normally removed from geopolitical tussles.

It also risks reviving Britain's tensions with Argentina, which invaded South Georgia in 1982 as part of its war with the UK over the Falkland Islands.

But the outcome couldn't be more consequential: With fish stocks across the globe declining due to overfishing, consumers are demanding greater transparency about where the filets on their plates are sourced.

Central to that effort is rules-based international fisheries management on the open ocean and environmentally sensitive areas like the polar regions.

“It sets a dangerous precedent,” said Evan Bloom, who for 15 years, until his retirement from the State Department in 2020, led the US delegation to the CCAMLR.

“What the Russians did clearly violates the spirit of science-based fisheries management,'' added Bloom, who is now an expert on polar issues at the Wilson Center in Washington.

“But that doesn't necessarily mean that the UK can act unilaterally.” Three of the four vessels authorized by the UK to fish near South Georgia starting May 1 belong to Argos Froyanes, a British-Norwegian company that pioneered techniques credited with dramatically reducing seabird mortality in the south Atlantic.

One of its customers is New York-based Mark Foods, the largest US supplier of sea bass certified by the Marine Stewardship Council, the industry's gold standard for sustainability.

CEO Barry Markman declined an interview request but said his company would not import any product deemed illegal by US authorities.

''We have been working collaboratively with US officials to resolve this situation in a favourable manner,'' he wrote in an e-mail.

Chilean seabass — the commercial name of Patagonia toothfish — from South Georgia is sold at both Whole Foods and Orlando-based Darden Restaurants, which operates the fine-dining chains Eddie V's and The Capital Grille. Neither company responded to a request for comment.

An official from the government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, which issued the licenses in coordination with the UK foreign office, said it took action so as not to give in to obstructionist tactics by Russia that it doesn't expect will end anytime soon.

The fishery is one of the best managed in the world, with catch limits set by South Georgia below even the quota recommended by the Antarctic commission. In addition, all vessels authorised to fish near the island have observers and tamper-proof electronic monitoring equipment on board.

Officials say that closing the fishery would've taken valuable resources away from research and monitoring because about 70 per cent of the island chain's budget comes from the sale of licenses.

They point out that the population of toothfish — a bottom-dwelling species capable of living up to 50 years — almost collapsed in the days before CCAMLR due to poachers, many from the former Soviet Union, drawn to the high prices paid for the fish, which can weigh over 200 pounds.

However, thanks in part to the multinational efforts of the commission, the species has bounced back.

But US officials have taken a dim view of the UK's actions.

Janet Coit, a senior official at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, wrote in an April 25 letter obtained by the AP that in the absence of approved protections, any fishing near South Georgia would be of “questionable legality'' and have “serious implications'' for the Antarctic commission.

She also stated that any shipments of fish harvested in what's known as subarea 48.3 would likely be barred from entering the US, a preliminary view she said was shared with the UK government and US importers to guide their decision-making.

''We recognize that fish from this subarea has represented a substantial percentage of toothfish imports,'' according to the letter, which was sent to a bipartisan group of seven House members concerned about the impact of a ban on the seafood industry.

“However, we are bound by our obligations under the CAMLR Convention, applicable conservation measures in force, and relevant US law.” The financial hit for the seafood industry from any import ban could be significant.

Every year, the US imports around 3 million pounds of MSC-certified toothfish from South Georgia, worth about USD 50 million.

The loss of those imports can't be easily substituted because the four other MSC-certified toothfish fisheries in the CCAMLR convention area — run by Australia, France and the Falkland Islands — are fishing at or near capacity. Overall, about 15 per cent of the more than 12,000 metric tons of toothfish caught in the CCAMLR convention area comes from South Georgia.

Under US law, fishing conducted in a way that disregards conservation measures, such as catch limits, adopted by international fishery organisations to which the US is a party, is considered illegal.

Vessels that engage in such activity can be denied access to US ports and blacklisted within the Antarctic commission framework.

Meanwhile, the UK has shown no sign of backing down. Even with no conservation measure in place, it insists it will continue to operate the fishery in the conservative way it always has, basing its decisions on the quota and other guidelines proposed by commision scientists.

“Russia egregiously blocked the agreed catch limits citing spurious scientific concerns not recognised by any other member of the CCAMLR,” the UK's foreign office said in a statement.

“The UK will continue to operate the toothfish fishery within the framework agreed by all CCAMLR Members.”

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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