State of world fisheries and international fight against IUU fishing

Simon Funge-SmithSenior Fishery Officer, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific

State of World Fisheries

For 20 years, global marine capture fisheries have not increased 78-83 million tonnes

Foreign fishing is no longer welcome in most Exclusive Economic Zones• Richest fishing areas lie within EEZ• Countries have different capacity to control EEZ resources

What is IUU fishing?

• Illegal – Any fishing activity that undermines

(RFMO or national) fishery management measures

• Unregulated – Fishing vessels that are not controlled by

the flag state

• Unreported– Assumes a reporting system is in place– National Asian fishing limited logbooks,

catch documents– Almost all artisanal catches not landed in

a port or landing centre are unreported/unrecorded

• This presentation focusses mainly on the “illegal” and “unregulated” issues

Over-capacity is a major driver for IUU fishing

• Large fishing fleets have developed• Resources are fished to the limit or

have declined• Over-capacity in processing sector

drives demand for raw material• Access arrangements and reflagging

moves capacity around the region• Limited controls by coastal states • Beneficial owners profit from IUU• Linkages

– labour and rights abuses– vessel safety– money laundering and trans-national

crime

IUU fishing can be deliberate or opportunistic

• Taking a risk– balancing likelihood of income against the

likelihood of penalty or capture

• Economic opportunity– Fishers will do if they think they can get

away with it

• Most coastal fisheries have limited MCS – Risk of capture/fines are relatively low – Few court cases

Typical IUU activities

• Unauthorized fishing – Fishing in neighbouring country

waters, high seas – Fishing without a license

• False documentation/markings– Fishing with falsified license– False/duplicate vessel registration– False vessel markings

• Illegal transhipment or landings– Landing of fish in an area other

than the authorized port of landing – Non-reporting, misreporting,

under-reporting of catch

Typical IUU activities (2)

• Non compliance with technical management measures– Fishing in a restricted zone(s), seasons– Trawling in nearshore artisanal zone– Fishing in protected areas or closed

season

• Unauthorized gears & methods– Small mesh sizes, lights, unlicensed gear– Use of destructive methods (cyanide,

blast-fishing)

• Catching of prohibited/protected species– CITES species, Sea turtles, Shark finning,

grouper, live reef fish, coral etc.

How much fish is this and what is the cost?

• Estimated global cost of IUU (2009)– USD 10 - 23 billion per year

• Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission (APFIC) – Estimate of illegal fish catch by foreign

vessels in Asia– USD 3.7 - 5.2 billion per year– 2.1 – 2.5 million tonnes

• Other estimates Asia and Pacific (2009) – 3.4 – 8.1 million tonnes – 8 -16% of the total reported catch– USD 5.8 billion per year

What tools do we have to combat IUU fishing?

FAO Port State Measures Agreement (2009)• International agreement to

combat IUU fishing– Remove the incentives(profitability) – increase the deterrents (sanctions)– Makes it difficult for IUU fish to be

imported or traded

• Principally targets foreign vessels– Prohibits port access and servicing

of IUU vessels and products– Strengthens monitoring and

coordination between agencies– Enables more effective sanctions

National Plan of Action-IUU• National plan under the FAO International

Plan of Action IUU• Identifies required institutional and legal

reforms– Update national legislation– Reform departmental mandates to actively

combat IUU fishing– Improve inter-department cooperation to control

fishing vessels

• Strengthen Flag State responsibilities– Strengthen national vessel register & licensing– Establish Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS)

• Strengthen controls– Port inspections– Catch documentation – Development of effective monitoring control and

surveillance

Flag State controls & responsibilities

• Ensure no vessels operates without an authorization

• Maintain accurate and up-to-date fishing vessel register

• Establish control mechanisms on vessels flying flag

• Engaging in, or supporting, IUU fishing• including transport and support vessels• VMS?• Develop and maintain a record of fishing

vessels

Regulating transhipment at sea

• Transhipment outside the territorial sea should be regulated to prevent laundering of catches

• Countries should monitor transhipments• Establish measures such as:– vessel registers– mandatory notification of intention to tranship – application of VMS

Market Measures• Closely related to the implementation of Port State

Measures – Prevent IUU fish from accessing markets– Provide assurances to markets

• Examples– EU Regulation 1005/2008 on catch certification– USA Presidential Task Force on SeaFood Fraud– Catch documentation and traceability schemes

Coordination is key • Fisheries, Maritime Transport, Navy, Customs & Police

– Harmonize port controls & inspections– Coordinate on vessel registration/flagging– Prosecutions for IUU

• International and Regional Cooperation with other countries’– Communicate information on registers & flags– Share IUU information

Institutional reform and capacity building takes time• The necessary reforms to develop a

modern fishery management system takes time– Staff need to be re-tasked and trained– Departments needs to take on new roles

and responsibilities– Legal reforms need to be put in place

• May be resistance– from fishing sector and processors anxious

about profits and losses

• Needs medium & long term perspective– clear goals, consistent policy