They want an end to the "Flag of Convenience" (FOC) registry system for fishing vessels which, they say, allows widespread illegal and unreported fishing, through a "legal loophole."

Under international maritime law the country whose flag a vessel is flying ultimately is responsible for the activities of that ship. In order to avoid such control, they say, the owners of some fishing vessels register them with countries that do not enforce international labor, and environmental regulations.

Often these vessels will fish in waters under the jurisdiction of developing countries which do not have the resources to enforce existing regulations and the ability to patrol their offshore waters, environmentalists say.

"Some 1,200 large-scale flag of convenience vessels are roaming the world's oceans, plundering the high seas at will, stealing fish from developing countries, ignoring international fisheries agreements, and freely selling their fish to Europe, Japan and the United States," says Matthew Gianni, ocean campaign coordinator for Greenpeace International. John Prescott, Britain's deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom, also spoke out against the practice when speaking at an international conference here.

Since last Wednesday, environment ministers worldwide have been discussing the state of oceans and fisheries here at the annual Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), which monitors the implementation of the agreements made at the 1992 Earth Summit, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The talks continue through this week.

"All my life as a seafarer and a politician, I have campaigned against the use of Flags of Convenience -- which have often cost the lives of merchant seafarers," he said, referring to the lax compliance to labor and safety regulations.

Government ministers said this, and other ocean issues needed to be addressed in longer formal discussions. They urged the General Assembly to create an "open- ended" working group to discuss ocean-related issues and the implementation of existing international laws relating to oceans and fisheries.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that 70 percent of the world's most valuable fish stocks already are depleted -- or severely over-fished. By the next decade, that global demand for seafood will exceed supply, it said.

Various international laws exist to regulate over-fishing in international waters, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Ratified by about 130 countries, the treaty came into force in 1994. But enforcement of the law is lax, say environmental groups. Likewise, the Agreement on Straddling and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks is not yet in force, having been ratified by only four of the top 20 fishing nations.

During last week's CSD session, Greenpeace, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, the International Transport Workers' Federation and other unions released a report titled: "Troubled Waters: Fishing Pollution and FOCs."

"The FOC problem has reached a point where it is threatening the sustainable development of maritime transport, the protection of the marine environment and the sustainable utilization of marine living resources," it said.

The top four countries using this system are Honduras, Panama, Belize, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, according to Lloyd's Maritime Service data. Together they account for more than three-quarters of all FOC fishing vessels worldwide, according to Greenpeace.

"The way the FOC system works is basically that a country says pay us a fee, we'll register your fishing boat and you're free to fish anywhere, anyway you want to, no questions asked," added Gianni.

Responsibility for FOC fishing also lies with the governments of the major fishing countries that fail to regulate companies within their jurisdiction that own and operate the registered fishing fleets. According to data provided by Lloyd's, 94 vessels flying the flag of one the major FOC countries are owned by companies registered in European Union countries.

Prescott said that he was particularly concerned that the reckless illegal fishing under FOC threatened stocks of Toothfish in the Antarctic.

According to Michael Sutton, director of World Wildlife Fund's Endangered Sea Campaign, the Toothfish is highly endangered because of pirate fishing that is allowed under the FOC system.

"Ten times the amount of fish come out of the water illegally than is accounted for by the legal fishing industry," according to a recent report by the Fund.

"We're concerned that this animal may go commercially extinct before we even know what's going on down there," said Sutton. The Toothfish is an important part of the marine food chain.

It makes up part of the diet of the sperm whale and elephant seal. Its tasty white flesh is also prized in the United States where it is known as Chilean Sea Bass and in Japan where it's called Mero.

In March, Greenpeace caught a Belize-registered vessel named the "Salvora", fishing illegally for Patagonian Toothfish in the Southern Ocean.

Gianni said it was one of about 100 boats in the region engaged in pirate fishing in the region. The ship's catch was allegedly sold on to a Chilean company with the fish destined for markets in the United States, Japan and Europe.

"The Salvora typifies the problem of flag of convenience fishing," said Gianni. He said although the ship flew the flag of Belize it was owned by a company based in Spain.

Murray France, Chief Executive Officer of Kailis and France Foods, which operates a legal operation out of Perth, Australia, said he was "greatly concerned" about pirate fishing. The company has been fishing for Toothfish in sub-Antarctic waters since 1994.

He said in 1997 the company "encountered 13 or 14 different foreign long-liners working within the Australian fishing zone, naturally without licenses, not following any of the environmental procedures that we require."

Copyright 1999