Pacific - It is likely that some Spanish or French 

 world-class tuna purse seiners are fishing in tlie 

 Westeni Pacific Ocean. One Spanish tuna vessel, tlie 

 Monteclaro, sank in tlie Eastern tropical Pacific on 

 July 14, 1993. There are 6 ex-Spanish tuna vessels 

 currently reflagged in Panama which may be fishing 

 for tuna in the Pacific, along with 1 vessel reflagged 

 in Malta and 1 reflagged in Cyprus. 



The EC is the only West European body with a 

 major, long-term program aimed at reducing the size 

 of its fleet. The EC's Multi-Amiual Guidance 

 Program (MAGP) is a 10-year effort designed to 

 reduce the size of the EC fleet by 1996. Tliis 

 program, however, is primarily aimed at reducing the 

 size of coastal fishing vessels, although some high- 

 seas vessels will be included. The MAGP calls for 

 vessels to be permanently withdrawn from EC rolls, 

 through transfer to non-fishing status, sale to third 

 countries, or scrapping. T/ie number of EC vessels 

 that will be decommissioned ultimately depends upon 

 tlie success of EC negotiators in gaining access to 

 Namibian waters and to the success of the Argentine 

 agreement when it is approved. 



cost. Some of Greenland's fleet of shrimp trawlers 

 and cod factory stern trawlers could be sold, though 

 in all probability to other Nordic countries. 



Reflagging: 



Reflagging is becoming significant as economic 

 conditions force fishennen to seek alternatives to 

 existing fishery management regimes. Danish 

 fishermen reflagged a few vessels in Panama in an 

 attempt to fish wild Atlantic salmon in 1989-91. A 

 Spanish and a Belgian firm currently charters 

 Taiwanese longliners out of Honduras. Cyprus and 

 Malta have become important centers for reflagging 

 in 1993. Belize, Dominican Republic, Panama, and 

 St. Vincent are all attracting West European vessel 

 registration. Norwegian fishery enforcement patrols 

 recently encountered several Caribbean-flag vessels 

 fishing for cod between the Russian and Norwegian 

 200-mile limits in international waters of the Barents 

 Sea. 



Non-EC countries: 



The non-EC countries are unlikely to deploy 

 large numbers of their vessels in distant-water 

 fisheries. Tliese countries have never operated 

 extensively beyond the North Sea or North Atlantic 

 or Mediterranean and are unlikely to initiate such 

 high-cost operations requiring lengthy trips at this 

 time. However, individual companies may seek to 

 fish under joint venture arrangements in distant 

 waters, such as off New Zealand, South Africa, 

 Peru, or possibly even off Russia. The shift to 

 distant waters will depend upon the recovery of cod 

 stocks in the North Atlantic. 



The authors believe that approximately 30 non- 

 EC high-seas vessels could be sold between 1 993 and 

 1995. Icelandic fishermen are likely to sell some 

 used vessels to reduce operating costs of companies 

 adversely affected by the current (1991-93) decline in 

 cod stocks, which are not expected to recover until 

 1996-98. Norwegian fishermen may also sell some 

 vessels during 1993-94. Faroese fishing vessels, in 

 particular, are for sale at attractive prices. The 

 vessels were built with generous state subsidies and 

 are now being sold for a fraction of their original 



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