Because of the catching of Chilean sea bass by the UK, the US wants to impose a ban on its import. As a result, America will lose almost 1.5 million kilograms of fish, and the UK will lose about $ 50 million in revenue. Initially, Russia blocked fishing restrictions on perch, which almost disappeared forty years ago. About the conflict tells Associated Press.
For decades, countries including Russia, the United States and China have worked together to regulate fishing off the coast of Antarctica, protecting the Southern Ocean and its resources from poachers. In particular, in Antarctica there was a limit on the catch of Chilean sea bass.
In my country blocked
present tense
However, last year Russia abandoned the perch fishing restrictions, effectively vetoing them: the introduction of a limit requires the consent of all 26 members of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). As a result, deep-sea perch fishing turned out to be de facto unrestricted.
According to the newspaper, the UK took advantage of the uncertainty. In the spring of 2022, she secretly issued licenses to fish for sea bass off the coast of South Georgia, an uninhabited Antarctic island under her control. The US condemned the UK’s decision and said it would likely ban the import of all sea bass caught near South Georgia.
The US annually imports nearly 1.5 million kilograms of legally caught sea bass off the coast of South Georgia, valued at about $50 million. The loss of these imports will be difficult to replace as the rest of the legal bass fishing grounds are already being exploited to the maximum. Sea bass is served in upscale US restaurants and costs over $70 per kilo.
The UK is not going to stop fishing for bass without a CCAMLR decision on limits.
“The UK will continue to fish for sea bass within the framework agreed by CCAMLR Members,” the UK Foreign Office said in a statement.
The Chilean sea bass, which lives in subantarctic waters, was discovered at the end of the 19th century. In less than a century, its population has practically disappeared due to overfishing, including poaching. Sea bass grows up to two meters in length and weighs over 90 kilograms. Currently, its fishery is being certified, any buyer of perch can ask the seller for documents confirming the legality of his catch.
