A graphic indication of unsustainable commercial fishing was conveyed by two environmental watch organizations, Greenpeace and Western Sahara Watch, have revealed severe unsustainable practices by Moroccan commercial fishing vessels who were seen dumping tons of sardines overboard into ocean waters off the Western Sahara.
Unsustainable commercial fishing for species like Bluefin tuna in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean seriously affect the fate of species like the Bluefin tuna. Over all declines in fish populations in the word’s oceans are just one symptom of oceans spiralling downwards and threatening life on earth.
The indicated fish dumping occurred in November by a fishing vessel named Adrar. It revealed massive dumping of the sardines because the vessel’s owners were “not happy with the size of the sardines.”
Western Sahara Resource Watch added that this vessel alone has dumped as much as 1,000 tons of dead fish back into the ocean this year alone.
The Youtube clip below shows a graphic fish dump operation in progress, which was estimated to have involved as much as 60 tons of fish.
Judging of the shown size of these fish in the accompanying still photos, the dumping appeared to be a complete waste of fish that could be well utilized for food.
The idea of dumping so many fish does not bode well as an indication for marine fish populations.
“The combination of that (Moroccan) fleet with a new European fisheries agreement with Morocco is not sustainable, according to Greenpeace,” says Marie F. Palm, who is affiliated with Western Sahara Research Watch.
She added that Greenpeace is calling for the European Parliament to reject the renewed EU fisheries agreement in the waters off Western Sahara.
Although these sardines are not yet threatened like Bluefin tuna, the indication of so much fish dumping could eventually put these fish at risk as well.
Read more about unsustainable fishing issues in the Middle East:
Fate of Bluefin Tuna Dangles in Morocco
New Regulations Encourage More Sustainable Fishing in Turkey
Dubai Finally Gets Serious About Overfishing
Photos and video of sardine fish dumping courtesy of Western Sahara Resource Watch
Author: Maurice Picow
Maurice Picow grew up in Oklahoma City, U.S.A., where he received a B.S. Degree in Business Administration. Following graduation, Maurice embarked on a career as a real estate broker before making the decision to move to Israel. After arriving in Israel, he came involved in the insurance agency business and later in the moving and international relocation fields. Maurice became interested in writing news and commentary articles in the late 1990’s, and now writes feature articles for the The Jerusalem Post as well as being a regular contributor to Green Prophet. He has also written a non-fiction study on Islam, a two volume adventure novel, and is completing a romance novel about a forbidden love affair. Writing topics of particular interest for Green Prophet are those dealing with global warming and climate change, as well as clean technology - particularly electric cars.
The idea of this piece was not ot dwell on politcal issues, but to point out an environmental issue. What goes on with fishing vessels and trawlers is often not reported; and most likely undesirable fish are thrown back from them as well. This is one reason why less fish are now being seen in the oceans.
With all due respect Maurice, these Algerian influenced NGOs are all about exploiting and fabricating stories for political capital; you might genuinely care about the exploitation of fish, but the sentiment certainly isn’t shared by some of your sources. I am supposed to seriously take at their word the allegations made by WSRW in the video, when they’ve already laid numerous false charges? Can they proved actual evidence this video of fish dumping is occurring off the Moroccan sahara or any other part of Morocco; fishing dumping (only recently banned in the EU) is so common in the industry this could be anywhere on earth! Furthermore, Morocco takes strict measures (following national schemes such as the Halieutis Plan and the Biological Rest program) to protect its fish stocks. Thank you.
*fish dumping
In fact, WSRW is an NGO with questionable funding and which has dubious links to the inhumane and draconian military regime ruling Algeria.
The video is a complete sham. For such grand accusations it doesn’t even provide a shred of evidence. On top of that Morocco is not illegally occupying the sahara as the video incorrectly asserts which casts even more doubt over the videos integrity and its other baseless claims.