Over The Horizon

Taking Toothfish Seriously

New Zealand is to express its concern to an international forum regarding poaching of toothfish in the Ross Sea. The Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) has reported that as much as 130,000 tonnes of toothfish worth $600 million may have been illegally taken from Antarctic waters in the past two years.

"At the next meeting of the Convention...we expect the toothfish problem to be a key focus," says Environment Minister Simon Upton. "We are disappointed at the growing evidence that companies and nationals associated with countries which are parties to CCAMLR are behind much of the toothfish plunder."