Yago Rosado
Policy Assistant
Oceana Staff
Yago is a criminologist who has hands-on experience researching fisheries crime, environmental exploitation, and organized criminal activity. Having grown up in a coastal town in Catalonia within a family partly involved in the fish trade, he developed an early and practical understanding of the ecological, social, and cultural importance of fishing for coastal communities, as well as the vulnerabilities that shape marine-dependent livelihoods. Perhaps because he grew up near the Mediterranean Sea, he recalls being fascinated by ports and ships even as a child. This personal history has fueled his longstanding interest in understanding the structural causes of social and environmental injustice.
This is why he pursued a degree in criminology and public prevention policies in Barcelona and subsequently a master’s degree in global criminology in the Netherlands. During his master’s program, he began researching crime at sea and eventually focused on the socioeconomic and political factors contributing to illegal and unsustainable fishing.
After spending several years researching corporate and organized crime at various NGOs and think tanks, Yago joined Oceana’s illegal fishing and transparency team in September 2025. Based in Brussels, he now contributes to strengthening transparency and accountability in global fisheries and combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
