9 Feb 2015

EU yellow cards Solomon Islands

6:06 pm on 9 February 2015

The European Union has warned Solomon Islands it needs to crack down on illegal fishing or it will impose a ban on the country's tuna exports.

Fish being sold at a Solomon Islands food market.

Fish being sold at a Solomon Islands food market. Photo: RNZ

The EU has also issued a warning to Papua New Guinea and Tuvalu.

The EU's head of development cooperation in Solomon Islands, Pavlos Evangelidis, says the warning is a way to help the Solomons curb illegal fishing.

"What it essentially means is that the EU has established a formal dialogue now with the Solomon Islands to help it progress - it is in the mutual benefit of both the Solomon Islands and the European Union

The EU's head of development cooperation in Solomon Islands, Pavlos Evangelidis.

The European Commission has a regulation in place designed to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.