Canada Vows To Crack Down On Illegal Fishing

OTTAWA — "The Canadian government said Thursday it was cracking down on foreign trawlers, which it accused of illegally catching endangered and undersized fish just outside Canada's 200-mile limit in the Atlantic Ocean.

Fisheries Minister Geoff Regan said Canadian Coast Guard vessels had boarded five trawlers in the past week and issued two citations to a Portuguese vessel accused of illegal fishing.

He said Canada would spend an extra C$15 million (US$11 million) to boost patrols off the Grand Banks and would board more foreign vessels. Regan told reporters that in 2003 foreign fishing fleets had illicitly caught about 15,000 tons of fish protected by moratoriums, including cod and American plaice.

"We are appalled by this blatant disregard for international rules and obligations.... Current scientific advice indicates that catches at this level will prevent recovery and could cause virtual destruction of these stocks in three to five years," he said. "This is not acceptable.... (We will) take more aggressive and visible action on multiple fronts."

EDIT

http://www.enn.com/news/2004-05-07/s_23570.asp

Is it just me, or does this sound vaguely familiar?

The Grand Banks, the Georges Banks, they are all fished out.
The long liners and gill net seiners and the big trawlers reflect a growing demand that exceeds the stocks of cod.

The fact is allot of fishermen just don't believe we can fish to extinction - or maybe don't care.

My sympathy lies with the fising fleets, and the fish. There needs to be a balance.
There are finite limits.