Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing Archives

Achieving Transparency and Combating IUU fishing in RFMOs

Reinforcing the EU’s multilateral actions to promote best practices The environmental and economic viability of global fisheries remains in crisis, with many fish populations managed within Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) Convention areas overfished and at times at risk of collapsing. Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing significantly contributes to this problem. Strengthening fisheries governance … Read more

Responsible sourcing recommendations for the Spanish seafood supply chain

There is increasing interest in the Spanish seafood supply chain for fisheries and aquaculture to be more environmentally and socially sustainable. For businesses to ensure more sustainable seafood is part of their strategic planning and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), they must make specific sourcing policy commitments and set defined, time-bound and measurable indicators. This policy must be public and easily accessible. … Read more

New roadmap targets responsible sourcing improvements in Spanish seafood industry

A coalition of environmental organisations have today launched a roadmap for the Spanish seafood industry to increase responsible sourcing in its supply chain. The coalition, which includes ClientEarth, Greenpeace, Oceana, Our Fish, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership and WWF, launched 10 recommendations detailing how companies can address the growing concern about sustainability throughout the supply chain, from … Read more

UN Environment, Oceana and insurers issue first-ever guidelines to combat pirate fishing

Environmental organisations join forces with insurance industry to spearhead global campaign to tackle illegal fishing Approximately 1 in 5 fish is caught illegally, posing serious threats to the environment and global fish supplies Today, UN Environment, Oceana and leading insurers issued a checklist of warning signs for pirate fishing activity, as part of a global … Read more

Oceana calls out insurer to cancel contract with pirate-fishing ship

Oceana is calling out insurance company Carina to cancel covering the Cape Flower, a fishing vessel that was added in November 2017 to an official intergovernmental blacklist of ships that the South East Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (SEAFO) determined have engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The internationally blacklisted pirate fishing vessel is currently … Read more

Western Mediterranean: Overfishing crisis: act now, or lose it forever

The Mediterranean Sea is one of the world’s most important seas. However, it is currently the world’s most overfished sea, with more than 90% of stocks fished above what is considered sustainable (i.e. above Maximum Sustainable Yield, or MSY). In the Western Mediterranean alone, overfishing affects 80% of demersal fish stocks, which live and feed … Read more

Risk assessment and control of IUU fishing for the marine insurance industry

Guidelines to control or mitigate the risk of insuring vessels and companies associated with illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing—also known as pirate fishing—is an unresolved and internationally pervasive problem, costing the global economy tens of billions of USD dollars annually.1 Those that participate in IUU fishing break or … Read more

Oceana uncovers dozens of cases of illegal fishing in protected areas in the Mediterranean

Version française | Versione italiana Oceana launched today a report uncovering 41 potential cases of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the Mediterranean Sea using data from Global Fishing Watch. The findings were submitted and discussed at two governmental meetings of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM)1, during which countries failed to provide clarification … Read more

Building a GFCM framework to combat IUU fishing

Monitor, control and surveillance are crucial to ensure proper fisheries management and to rebuild stocks, in particular in the Mediterranean Sea, where 80% of the stocks are considered to be outside biologically safe limits. The General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) has taken significant steps in the last years towards reversing this situation, including … Read more

The Mediterranean: Illegal fishing in our backyard?

Being one of the busiest seas in the world, the Mediterranean is also a sea where illicit fishing activities still go unnoticed and thus unpunished…until now. Most of the cases of illegal fishing that make news in Europe seem to happen in far flung regions such as the Pacific or even the Antarctic. But such … Read more