Background Information

Many of the world’s fisheries and marine ecosystems are being exploited at rates far in excess of sustainable levels.  Fishing on the high seas has increased over recent decades as a result of the overfishing of coastal waters and in response to growing market demand.

IUU Fishing is one of the most serious threats to the health of the world’s fisheries and oceans and, as such the secure employment of fishers.  In addition the ITF condemns the gross violations of human and labour rights that are prevalent in the IUU fishing sector.  

The ITF notes the inextricable link between IUU fisheries and flags of convenience where no genuine link exists between the State whose flag the vessel flies and the beneficial owner, making it easy for unscrupulous operators to evade regulation.

The ITF has always urged, in line with the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and the International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate IUU Fishing (IPOA-IUU) that the fishers, members of our respective affiliates should never be involved in such activities.

IUU fishing occurs in virtually all fisheries, causing problems for people who are trying to manage fisheries properly and for people who depend on fisheries for food and jobs.  IUU fishing can cause an entire fishery to collapse.  Those who conduct IUU fishing do not behave responsibly.  By ignoring fishing rules they gain an unfair advantage over responsible fishers, those who fish in accordance with the rules.

It is essential that countries take the necessary measures to prevent their nationals or companies in their jurisdiction from engaging in IUU fishing and flag States must take effective control of vessels which fly their flag to ensure compliance with conservation and management of high seas fisheries. 

Definition

Illegal fishing refers to activities:

• conducted by national or foreign vessels in waters under the jurisdiction of a State, without permission of that State, or in contravention of its laws and regulations;
  
  
• conducted by vessels flying the flag of States that are parties to a relevant regional fisheries management organisation but operate in contravention of the conservation and management measures adopted by that organisation and by which the States are bound, or relevant provisions of the applicable international law; or
  
  
• in violation of national laws or international obligations, including those undertaken by cooperating States to a relevant regional fisheries management organisation.
  

Unreported fishing refers to fishing activities:

• which have not been reported, or have been misreported, to the relevant national authority, in contravention of national laws and regulations; or
  
  
• undertaken in the area of competence of a relevant regional fisheries management organisation which have not been reported or have been misrepresented, in contravention of the reporting procedures of that organisation.
  

Unregulated fishing refers to fishing activities:

• in the area of application of a relevant regional fisheries management organisation that are conducted by vessels without nationality, or by those flying the flag of a State not party to that organisation, or by a fishing entity, in a manner that is not consistent with or contravenes the conservation and management measures of that organisation; or
  
  
• in areas of fish socks 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.
  

Flag State Responsibility and IUU Fishing

Clearly there is a dangerous and widespread relationship between IUU fishing and Flags of Convenience (FOCs).  As shown by many reports and studies undertaken by international organisations, national institutions, trade unions and NGOs, the link between IUU fishing and FOCs is extensive and harms basic human and labour rights, safety, environment and conservation of resources, and the development of local communities.  A first step towards eliminating IUU fishing should involve the eradication of the system that allows FOCs to proliferate and operate.

There is an urgent need to address transparency of beneficial ownership.  All the relevant international organisations and stakeholders should cooperate and work together to fill loopholes in international law, starting with agreement on a definition of the “genuine link” between the owner of a vessel and the chosen flag of registration.  So far at the international level, discussions have ended in soft law solutions that have proved ineffectual.  Now is the time to take more decisive action to deal with the fundamental flaws inherent in the FOC system.

A further problem which is related to the lack of a proper flag State control system, is that of “flag hopping”, where in certain flag States vessels can be registered in as little as twenty-four hours without any checks on their activities by the competent authorities.  Moreover, with the lack of an international regulation establishing a minimum period for a vessel to fly a certain flag, vessels can easily hop from one flag State to another in order to evade capture, to exploit fishing quotas in certain regions and to avoid accountability.  In resolving the problems relating to FOCs and transparency of ownership the potential for such evasions would be severely curtailed.

IUU Fishing and Human and Labour Rights

The link between IUU fishing practices and human rights abuses is not always recognised, while the two phenomena are very often associated, as shown by a number of recent reports.  In combating IUU fishing, there is an opportunity to include measures to eliminate the slave labour conditions of certain elements of the fishing industry.  Criteria to safeguard decent standards of working conditions, such as those contained in the forthcoming ILO Convention on Work in Fisheries, must be taken into account by States and Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) when granting authorizations to vessels to fish and tranship in their areas of competence.

Abuses encountered in some parts of the fishing industry range from instances of extreme physical violence against crew members to systematic cheating by owners and agents of fishers wages.  There are examples of seafarers and fishers being abandoned on unsafe vessels, without pay and without subsistence for months on end, forced to accept charity in order to survive.  Seafarers and fishers are routinely made to work in conditions that would be unacceptable in civilised society, in some cases afraid to complain for fear of blacklisting or threats to their families.  For more details see publication Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Seafarers, Fishers & Human Rights

Links to relevant websites regarding IUU Fishing

Below are some links to websites that provide further information on IUU fishing and Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMO’s) websites who have established IUU vessel blacklists:

www.illegal-fishing.info
www.closingthenet.info
www.fao.org/DOCREP/003/y1224e/y1224e00.HTM

Greenpeace
http://blacklist.greenpeace.org/

Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR)
www.ccamlr.org/pu/E/sc/fish-monit/iuu-intro.htm

Coalition of Legal Toothfish Operators (COLTO)
www.colto.org/vessels.htm

Fiskeridirektoratet (Norwegian Dictorate of Fisheries)
www.fiskeridir.no/fiskeridir/english/norwegian_black_list

International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT)
www.iccat.int/IUU.htm

Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC)
www.iotc.org/English/iuu/search.php

Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC)
www.iattc.org/vesselregister/iuueng.html

Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO)
www.nafo.int/fisheries/frames/fishery.html

Northeast Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC)
www.neafc.org/measures/iuu-a-list.htm

The Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT) has established a white list of fishing vessels, which are authorised to fish for southern bluefin tuna.
www.ccsbt.org/docs/search.cfm