IUU Fishing: Overview
One of the most important problems fisheries management faces is illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing (IUU fishing). Vessels engaged in IUU fishing activities do not comply with safety measures on board, do not use legal fishing gear, do not follow fisheries management regulations and do not comply with regulations on quotas, fishing areas, closed seasons or prohibited species.
The IUU catch is not recorded in catch registers. This is a fundamental aspect because fishing stocks are estimated based on these registers. As a result, Council Regulation 1005/2008 establishes measures that attempt to reduce IUU fishing in Europe. In addition, the FAO and more than 90 countries have promoted a treaty to fight against IUU fishing. Apart from other aspects, these measures are focused on closing ports to vessels engaged in illegal fishing activities. However, one of the main challenges faced by measures focused on reducing illegal fishing activities is the implementation of a control and sanctioning system. Such a system is necessary to mitigate the environmental infringements committed by the sector.
