Photo By Sgt. Steven Lee | Petty Officer 2nd Class Christopher Clausson and Chief Petty Officer George Soto, both...... read more read more
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Coast guardsmen from multiple nations assembled at Barbados Coast Guard Base Station Pelican to combat illegal, unregulated, unreported (IUU) fishing during TRADEWINDS 24 (TW24), May 9-11, 2024.
One of the primary goals is to extend awareness about this illegal practice. Instructors attributed this issue to the lack of awareness of this illegal practice around the globe.
“Our goal is to spread the word to a lot of our partner nations who might not even be aware that there are other nations fishing in their territories,” said U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Andrew Loeffler, the commanding officer for Southeast Regional Fisheries Training Center.
Loeffler emphasized the risks of IUU fishing for the U.S. and its partner nations, which includes a diminishing food supply and risks financial instability in the countries.
“If we don’t get a handle on the IUU fishing in the world, fishery stocks could potentially collapse and have detrimental effects on fishing communities and their food supply,” he continued. “It also could have an effect on buying, for example if a nation has control over those fisheries, they could raise the costs and make fish products more expensive for consumers.
In order to raise awareness, the team of instructors at TRADEWINDS 24 has incorporated various training scenarios within the exercise such as how to properly identify and safely board vessels that may be conducting IUU fishing.
“These exercises we’re conducting include how to properly confront and board ships that may carry illegal IUU fishing cargo,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Christopher Clausson, assigned to the U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Law Enforcement Academy. “Before we come on board however, we must conduct proper safety measures and inspections and make sure the vessel is safe for us to board.”
At the conclusion of TW24, the team from the U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Law Enforcement Academy aims to increase awareness about this illegal practice by providing training to exercise participants while simultaneously addressing the issue more effectively.. They also hope to get more partner nations involved in the future, before this issue causes life-changing ramifications.
“Unfortunately we can’t do it all by ourselves,” said Loeffler. “So the message is we need a united front in order to make this work and fix this growing problem.”
| Date Taken: | 05.11.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 05.12.2024 15:08 |
| Story ID: | 471086 |
| Location: | BB |
| Web Views: | 168 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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