Capital: Tirana
Population: 3.2 million (2011 est.)
Monetary unit: 1 lek (ALL)= 100 qindars
GDP: €16,675 billion (2009 est.)
GDP/capita: €4.577 (2009 est.)
Language: Albanian
Major religion: Islam
Life expectancy: 74 years (men), 80 years (women)
Main exports: Chromium and chrome products, processed foodstuffs
International dialing code: +355
Internet domain: .al

Albania still plagued by illegal fishing - Crisis hinders enforcement efforts (August 2012)

Albanian capture fisheries production can be divided into marine and freshwater fisheries. The Albanian coastline of 427 km (FAO) is divided between the Adriatic Sea in the north and the Ionian Sea in the south with approximately two thirds bound by the Adriatic Sea. Total capture fisheries (marine and freshwater) in Albania collapsed following the political changes in the early 90s reaching their nadir in 1997 when production was 1,014 tonnes.

The drastic decline in Albania’s fisheries production could be attributed to several factors as outlined in a report by the World Bank*. The institutional structures to manage fisheries and ports had failed. Effective enforcement of the rules and regulations governing fisheries was not being carried out. Illegal fishing activities were rampant. Boats, many of which were not licensed, were operating too close to the coast and destroying the breeding grounds for fish, and foreign vessels were plundering Albanian waters. Read more about the Albanian fisheries industry in the Eurofish Magazine.