III. Grammar Review

Fill in the blanks with the proper preposition where necessary.

1. Canada has produced evidence … illegal fishing … Portuguese trawlers.

2. Fisheries officials say the net mesh was too small … international regulations.

3. The net was recovered … a 30-hour search … the sea bed.

4. 65% of the fish found … the net were species protected … a fishing moratorium.

5. The net got stuck … the bottom … the ocean and broke … shortly … Canadian fisheries officers boarded … the vessel.

IV. Speech Practice

1. Explain in English what the following words and word groups mean:

to produce evidence; a fishing moratorium; endangered fish; to reject claims at the highest level.

2. Rephrase the following sentences:

1.	Canada has produced evidence of illegal fishing by Portuguese trawlers.
	Canada has proved…
2.	The net was retrieved after a 30-hour search of the ocean floor. 65% of the fish found in the net were from species protected under a fishing moratorium.
	When the net had been retrieved … it was discovered that…
3.	Canada has often protested to the governments of Spain and Portugal that their vessels regularly break the rules in the North Atlantic.
	Canada has often protested to the governments of Spain and Portugal about…

3. Answer the questions.

1. What charges has Canada brought against Portugal?

2. What facts were provided to prove the charges?

3. What does a fishing moratorium mean?

4. What fish species are considered endangered under the Canada's law?

5. How did the Portuguese captain explain the incident?

6. Is it the only case of violating the fishing regulations?

7. Why has commercial fishing for some species been banned?

4. Speak about the accident.

Text 6. Pirate fishing ships head for the scrap heap

I. Read the text.

Make sure you understand the words below:

repeatedly	frequently
to nickname	to call
commonly	usually
to secure	to obtain
to police	to control
to show up	to appear
to demand	to require
obligation	duty
primarily	mainly

15 May, 2007

Five blacklisted fishing trawlers that have been repeatedly exposed for illegal fishing in the North Atlantic by Greenpeace are now heading for the scrap heap.

Greenpeace documented the activities of five fishing trawlers (nicknamed the "trawler girls" due to the ships names all being women's names) since September 2005 while they illegally caught redfish in the Irminger Sea (in the North Atlantic between Iceland and Greenland).

The ships overwintered in European ports and then returned to their old fishing grounds. This happened despite the fact that all five vessels were blacklisted by the European Union, Iceland as well as the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission.

In December 2005 and again in March 2006, Greenpeace activists called on the German government to prevent the ships from leaving the port. Before their arrival in Germany these trawlers were called the Oyra, Ostroe, Okhotino, Olchan and Ostrovets. While they were in Rostock harbour the owners registered the ships under a new flag (Georgia) and changed their names to Eva, Juanita, Rosita, Isabella and Carmen, a make-over commonly practised by pirate fishing vessels in order to disguise their identity and avoid inspections. The German authorities promised not to re-supply the vessels but the ships managed to secure enough fuel and supplies and were able to leave port.

In March 2006 the same ships showed up in Lithuania along with several other pirate fishing vessels. Greenpeace demanded that Lithuania refuse blacklisted pirate vessels.

European Union member states like Germany, Poland and Lithuania violated EU law by giving these pirate ships shelter, fuel, service and assistance. The port of Klaipeda in Lithuania, where these ships showed up, has poor reporting and registration systems, which enables pirate fishing ships and "flag-of-convenience" ships to unload illegally caught fish.

Despite having their crimes so widely exposed, the "trawler girls" returned to the North Atlantic last April and spent another five months fishing illegally. They were aimed at fish species such as red fish, a species which is showing signs of over-exploitation. Since November 2006 the ships were tied up in Kaliningrad.

The Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise informed the Russian authorities about their illegal nature and the obligation of Russian authorities to stop them. In the last few weeks the ships have completed their final voyage to the Liyepaya scrap yard in Latvia!

Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing is a global problem that needs global solutions. It is primarily caused by the huge over-capacity of the world's fishing fleets, the lack of effective laws and the failure of many countries to police their waters.

Local and regional solutions are not sufficient if the international community is to deal effectively with pirate fishing and the theft of marine life from honest fishermen and future generations.