state of world fisheries and international fight against iuu fishing
TRANSCRIPT
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
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