Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing

In August 2012 United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon unveiled The

Oceans Compact, a policy document that sets out, in broad terms, some of the

potential threats to the prosperity of the oceans and, in equally broad measure,

some of the potential solutions to the problems faced. The purpose of this section40

of the present chapter is not, however, to provide a detailed critique of the

Compact—this would, because of the Compact’s general and aspirational nature, be

inappropriate and yield few results of any significance. Instead, this section will

draw upon one of the main threats posed to oceans highlighted by the

Compact—illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and consider the

manner in which existing international law should remedy these failings. Thankfully

however, the Compact does not simply call for further new laws to govern the

oceans’ use: as will be shown below there are presently a plethora of laws, agreements

and codes of conduct currently in place to deal with this issue and so the

Compact’s emphasis on the implementation of these laws and guidelines is a particularly

welcome one. The view presented in this section of the chapter is that whilst the physical threats
highlighted in the Compact and elsewhere are very real,

so is the threat to the oceans from State ambivalence or indifference to enforcement

and implementation. Indeed, in many ways unenforced laws and codes of

conduct that simply exist in the ether are potentially more of a threat to the oceans

than the physical activities that cause harm to the marine environment: by creating

a sense of ‘all is well’ the unenforced or unenforceable commitments act as a

panacea for even those responsible States who might pay lip service to their obligations.

17.3.1 What is IUU fishing?

The term ‘IUU’ was first coined by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic

Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) in 199741 but the most widely

accepted definition is that which informs the United Nations Food and Agriculture

Organisation (FAO) 2001 International Plan of Action, which states that:

Illegal fishing refers to fishing activities:

(1) conducted by national or foreign vessels in waters under the jurisdiction of a State,

without the permission of that State, or in contravention of its laws and regulations;

(2) conducted by vessels flying the flag of States that are parties to a relevant regional fisheries

management organization but operate in contravention of the conservation and

management measures adopted by that organization and by which the States are

bound, or relevant provisions of the applicable international law; or

(3) in violation of national laws or international obligations, including those undertaken

by cooperating States to a relevant regional fisheries management organization.

Unreported fishing refers to fishing activities:

(1) which have not been reported, or have been misreported, to the relevant national

authority, in contravention of national laws and regulations; or

(2) undertaken in the area of competence of a relevant regional fisheries management

organization which have not been reported or have been misreported, in contravention

of the reporting procedures of that organization.

Unregulated fishing refers to fishing activities:

(1) in the area of application of a relevant regional fisheries management organization

that are conducted by vessels without nationality, or by those flying the flag of a

State not party to that organization, or by a fishing entity, in a manner that is not

consistent with or contravenes the conservation and management measures of that

organization; or

(2) in areas or for fish stocks in relation to which there are no applicable conservation or

management measures and where such fishing activities are conducted in a manner

inconsistent with State responsibilities for the conservation of living marine resources

under international law.42