Every portion of fish for sale in Britain will soon be traceable back to the boat which caught it under a scheme supported by the government to end illegal fishing in the developing world.

Every portion of fish for sale in Britain will soon be traceable back to the boat which caught it under a scheme supported by the government to end illegal fishing in the developing world.

At a ground-breaking meeting at Westminster yesterday government ministers, representatives from the country's largest supermarkets and the food and drink industry agreed on measures to eliminate illegal fishing.

The UK development minister, Gareth Thomas, announced a £15m scheme to help fishermen in Sierra Leone stamp it out, and the measures will include setting up a tracing scheme for fish exported to the European Union.

Mr Thomas said: "Every year billions of dollars are snatched away from poor people around the world that could be used to make poverty history. One way of stopping this is to have an EU-wide tracking system that protects poor fishermen and reassures British consumers that the fish they buy has been caught fairly and responsibly.

"It would build business confidence, lead to companies rushing to work with poor communities and help fishermen realise the benefits of their hard work, trace each catch imported into Europe, and supermarkets have pledged to ensure that the packaging includes information on the source of the fish," he said.

David Audley, the president of the National Federation of Fish Friers, which represents 10,000 fish-and-chip shop owners in the UK, said: "(We) strongly advise all fryers to use fish from sustainable sources. Any effective measures the EU propose to stop illegal fishing have our wholehearted support."

Illegal fishing is one of the most unreported, unregulated, and uncontrolled businesses and recent reports put the worldwide value of the catch at between £2bn and £4.5bn a year, including at least £500m a year for sub-Saharan Africa.

Often the vessels involved flout health and safety rules and used forced labour, which does not benefit from the catch. Ships sail under flags of convenience and can re-register quickly on the internet.

Dr Claude Martin, director-general of the Worldwide Fund for Nature, said: "We know of fishing vessels that re-flag at sea. If landlocked countries sell flags of convenience, they couldn't care less what's going on at sea."

Cliff Morrison, chairman of the Seafood Group, UK Food and Drink Federation, said: "The issue of illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing is at the forefront of the food processing industry's agenda. The industry's code of practice to counteract IUU fishing activities is a major step in addressing the problem."