One step at a time for fish recovery

This news item last week caught me with a happy surprise:

New Treaty Would Cast Net Over Illegal Fishing

"Over 90 countries, including more than 30 from Africa, have agreed on the language of a new treaty to crack down on illegal and unregulated fishing.

The treaty would toughen port security and make it much harder for vessels to unload illegal catches. Its official name is the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing.

David Doulman, an official with the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization's Fisheries and Aquaculture Department in Rome, says, "It's an attempt to block the entry of illegally caught fish into international markets, so that the perpetrators of this type of fishing will not be able to benefit…or it will be more difficult for them to benefit."

Supposedly, according to other sources, this thing is set to be signed in December and then needs to get ratified by 25 countries. Let's hope this won't be nearly as hard to pass through the process as cap-and-trade is going to be in the U.S. Senate.