Snowe Commends U.S. - E.U. Agreement to Combat Illegal Fishing

U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) commended an agreement signed today by NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco and Maria Damanaki, European Union commissioner for maritime affairs and fisheries that will enhance cooperative efforts to combat illegal and unregulated fishing worldwide. Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing has robbed law-abiding fishermen worldwide of as much as $23 billion worth of seafood products each year and this agreement is the first bilateral step taken between the United States and European Union to combat the enduring epidemic.

Senator Snowe, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard, said: “Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing has undermined the tremendous sacrifice that Maine’s law-abiding fishermen have made to maintain and rebuild New England's historic fisheries. I hope the agreement announced today will level the playing field for our fishermen, because it is a tragedy that honest, hardworking American fishermen have been put at a competitive disadvantage, rather than rewarded for their efforts to sustain healthy fisheries for future generations.”