PNG and Ghana Have Yellow Card Lifted

The European Commission announced this week that they are lifting the yellow cards put in place on both Ghana and Papua New Guinea after the nations have shown significant cooperation and improvement in fighting IUU fishing in their waters.

Both the countries received their yellow cards over a year ago in September 2014, but were awarded extensions of six months in February of this year to continue cleaning up their acts and working towards eradicating IUU activity.

The European Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella, said: “Today’s decisions demonstrate the determination of the EU to bring important players on board in the fight against IUU fishing. Both Ghana and Papua New Guinea have taken ownership of their fisheries reforms and now have robust legal and policy frameworks in place to fight IUU fishing activities.”

The news that the two countries’ yellow card have been lifted comes just after the EU announced that Thailand will not be receiving an extension on its own yellow card sanction, and whose six month deadline for implementing changes ends in October.