WWF now involves stakeholders to address illegal fishing

Dar es Salaam. Illegal fishing is still one of the major threats to the marine industry, says WWF, a global non-governmental organisation, as it involves different stakeholders to protect marine species.

WWF held a workshop yesterday involving representatives from the government, fishery associations and environmental experts to discuss how they will implement Goal 14 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially in the marine industry. Goal 14 of the SDGs requires conservation and sustainable use of marine resources for sustainable development. WWF Tanzania has a marine programme that, among others, aims at addressing illegal fishing, degradation of marine habitats and making marine economic activities more sustainable.

It is estimated that 37 per cent of the world’s population depends lives in water. The marine industry involves economic activities like fishing, tourism, transport and others. “Pollution is still high in the industry and this threatens aquatic life. Statistics show that the number of fish species is decreasing due to environmental degradation,” he noted without specifying the decreasing rate.