Illegal, unreported and unregulated pirate fishing (IUU) is a global problem which threatens the sustainability of the world's fisheries. IUU fishers undermine those who respect the rules and pay the necessary regulation costs. This is a disincentive for others to obey regulations and adopt sustainable fishing practices. Pirate fishing affects Pacific Island states, which lose a valuable resource with no recompense.
| What is illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing?
Illegal fishing is:
- Fishing activities that violate or ignore national and/or international rules governing fisheries (essentially criminal activities);
- Fishing activities by vessels flagged to states that are parties to the relevant regional fisheries management organisation but are breaking the rules of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and/or other relevant laws.
Unreported fishing is:
- Fishing activities that have not been reported or have been misreported: to the relevant national authority in contravention of national laws and regulations; and/or in contravention of the reporting procedures of the relevant regional fisheries management organisation.
Unregulated fishing is:
- Fishing activities on the high seas in areas with no regulation (essentially open access). History has shown that open access fisheries are unsustainable.
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Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishers steal valuable resources and threaten the long term sustainability of the world's fisheries. They exploit depleted resources, fish in restricted areas, ignore required authorisations, waste bycatch, use prohibited gear and destroy vital fisheries. They run from authority when challenged, destroy evidence and endanger those in pursuit. If caught, they keep silent about their financiers and employers, until they are bonded and returned home where they will resume their activities.
Fishing activities by vessels using flags of convenience that are not members of the relevant regional fisheries management organisation, in this case the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention.
The impacts of pirate fishers
IUU fishing undermines the efforts of states and vessel owners who do respect the rules and pay the necessary regulation costs. This unfair competition is a disincentive for other vessel owners to obey regulations and adopt sustainable fishing practices.
Pirate fishing in the Pacific
The majority of IUU fishing in the Western and Central Pacific occurs in national waters by fishing vessels from distant water fishing states who are signatories to the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention (WCPFC). IUU vessels will often illegally fish rich grounds inside exclusive economic zones and then falsely claim that their catch came from the high seas "donut holes"ii. Other IUU vessels catch tuna as the fish migrate through these donut holes.
Who profits?
IUU fishing most affects those Pacific Island states which see none of the profits (which largely go to companies based in distant water fishing states) and receive no tax income, yet pay through a diminished resource and lost catches.
How much pirate fishing is there?
There are currently no statistics on global IUU fishing levels as IUU fishers do not report their catch, hide their activities and launder their catches. It is estimated that IUU fishing accounts for up to 30 per cent of total catches in some important fisheries and could be as high as 300 per cent of permitted catches for some species.
The best estimate of IUU fishing levels in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean is between five per cent and 15 per cent of all catch. Even this conservative estimate represents lost earnings to Pacific Island states of between AU$191 million and AU$571 million (US$134 to US$400 million) per yeariii. This is up to 400 per cent more than Pacific Island states earn in access and licence fees.
IUU fishing is about wealthy pirate companies and individuals, generally from developed nations, stealing community resources from those who can least afford it in the developing world. Pacific Island states must consider how to stop these pirates from exploiting legal and logistical loopholes. Solutions require a multi-dimensional approach, as pirate fishing companies are often vertically integrated, from catch to retail.
IUU fishers undermine the efforts of states and vessel owners who do respect the rules and pay the necessary regulation costs. This unfair competition is a disincentive for other vessel owners to obey regulations and adopt sustainable fishing practices.
In June, the FAO convened a four-day meeting at its Rome headquarters to assess progress towards implementation of the IPOA on IUU fishing and the IPOA on over-capacity of fishing vessels. According to the FAO reports presented during to the meeting, IUU fishing continues to increase in scope and intensity, and there are still too many fishing vessels in a large number of fisheries, with negative consequences for commercial fish stocksiv. Particular concern was noted at the on-going build up of fishing capacity in the Western and Central Pacific.
A pirate's business plan
"That plan might be to contract a boat with no flag, conscript a crew of labourers, depart and fish with illegal gear until the holds are full and then meet at a high seas rendezvous and tranship, re-fuel and resupply. This sequence of activity could be repeated several times, until the crew is worn out. At that point, the expendable crew could be paid and dropped off and the vessel could return to port with no evidence of IUU fishing and no person who could relate the event."
High Seas Boarding and Inspection of Fishing Vessels, E Prouxi
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Caught before - what are they up to now?
Serrekunda No77 transhipping tuna to New Prosperity in Suva harbour.
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iProux, E. (2003). High Seas Boarding and Inspection of Fishing Vessels: A discussion of goals, comparison of existing schemes and draft language. FAO Legal Papers Online #33. September 2003. p7.
iiAn area of high seas fully surrounded by EEZs.
iiiThe total 2002 catches in WCPO region of Albacore, Bigeye, Skipjack and Yellowfin tuna amounts to 2,004,836 MT. Assuming a conservative 5 per cent to 15 percent IUU activity this could represent 100,000 to 300,000MT. Broken down this would be 6 percent Albacore, 6 percent Bigeye , 66 percent Skipjack and 22 percent Yellowfin. At May 2004 prices of US$ 2,200 for Albacore (canning Bangkok), Bigeye (fresh Japan) US$ 7,000, Skipjack (canning Bangkok) US$ 800 and Yellowfin (canning Bangkok US$ 1,200 this represents stolen earnings of between US$ 134.4 million and US$ 400 million to the Pacific Islands.
ivwww.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2004/47649/index.html
