Captains of fishing vessels entering Fiji’s ports are being urged to fill in the right information in their catch logs.
Fisheries Enforcement Officer, Hilda Lobendahn says many fishing operators do not want to expose their fishing grounds.
Lobendahn says this is because they don’t want other fishing vessel operators to know about it.
“There’s so many reasons as to why they don’t truthfully or correctly report it because sometimes the captains thinks that the other captains or the other vessels would know where their fishing from so they also try and hide the catch they’re catching from that place.”
The Fisheries Ministry says unreported fishing could lead to pressure on fish stock, cost the economy millions and affect the livihood of Fijians in coastal areas.
Fisheries Officer, Meli Raicebe says they can inspect up to five fishing vessels a day and if they find a breach, flag states are immediately notified.
Meanwhile, up to five hundred fishing vessels enter our ports each year.
