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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
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Results for fishing industry
31 results foundAuthor: Frankcom, S., editor Title: Stop Illegal Fishing in Southern Africa Summary: This report looks at the status and impacts of Illegal, Unregulated, and Unreported (IUU) fishing in the southern African region, covering a number of themes and issues including international trade, certification, MCS (monitoring, control and surveillance), flag state issues, and port state measures. This report also includes country studies and interviews with key politicians. Details: Botswana: Stop Illegal Fishing Programme, 2008 Source: Year: 2008 Country: Botswana URL: Shelf Number: 114344 Keywords: Fishing IndustryIllegal FishingOffenses Against the EnvironmentUnregulated FishingWildlife Crime |
Author: Martin, Tony Title: Report on Foreign Fishing Vessel Security Issues in the Pacific Islands Region Summary: The threat of terrorist activity associated with foreign fishing vessels operating in the Pacific region is regarded as very low. These vessels do, however, represent a security risk in a number of areas: illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, people smuggling, trafficking in persons, illegal immigration, smuggling of weapons and drugs, prostitution, money laundering and corruption. The extent of risk in each of these areas is difficult to quantify with any certainty because of the lack of reliable data. At the international, regional and sub-regional levels, fisheries management is the subject of a large number of international and regional regulatory instruments. This is not the case when it comes to fishing vessel safety, training and conditions of employment of crews and protection of the marine environment where there has been a marked reluctance internationally to adopt and enforce standards. In the Pacific region, there is a lack of understanding on the part of those responsible for fisheries management, maritime administration and border management issues, of the respective roles each plays and the issues they face. Communication and information sharing between these sectors occurs infrequently if at all. In this report, specific measures are proposed to mitigate the security risks posed by foreign fishing vessels including wider use of existing information for monitoring vessels’ locations and their activities and, in due course, an ILO-based system for seafarer identification. The measures, with some modification, reflect some of the provisions of the maritime security regime (the ISPS Code) for international merchant shipping that might usefully be applied to the fishing sector for border management control purposes. Details: Noumea, New Caledonia: Regional Maritime Programme, Secretariat of the Pacific Community, 2005. 69p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 10, 2010 at: dns1.spc.int/coastfish/Reports/HOF5/FFVsecurity.pdf Year: 2005 Country: Asia URL: Shelf Number: 120441 Keywords: Fishing IndustryMaritime CrimeMaritime SecurityOffenses Against the EnvironmentTerrorism |
Author: United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking Title: Exploitation of Cambodian Men at Sea: Facts about the Trafficking of Cambodian Men onto Thai Fishing Boats Summary: An estimated thousands of Cambodian men, women, and children are trafficked annually to Thailand for the purpose of labor exploitation. Some of the worst exploited are the men and boys who are deceived onto long-haul fishing boats that fish the waters of the South China Sea, including into Malaysian waters. These boats, out to sea for up to two years or more, become virtual prisons on which the trafficking victims endure inhumane working conditions, and physical abuse. Death at sea is frequently reported, sometimes at the hands of the Thai boat captains. The only way to escape is to jump ship when the boat goes ashore for registration/documentation purposes in places like Sarawak, Malaysia. This SIREN report summarizes the facts about the trafficking of 49 Cambodian men and boys trafficked onto Thai long-haul fishing boats and assisted over the past 18 months by a network of responders spanning Cambodia, Thailand, and Malaysia. There are some variations in the scenarios faced by these men and boys, but the common theme is deception and debt bondage by two or more Khmer and Thai brokers; their sale to a Thai boat owner for 10,000-15,000 Baht; slave-like working conditions at sea, including beatings, deprivation of food, inhumane work hours (for example, working 3 days and nights straight when nets need to be mended), lack of medical treatment for illnesses and injuries, and threats of death; and sometimes, reportedly, murder. Details: Phnom Penh, Cambodia: UNIAP, 2009. 7p. Source: Internet Resource: SIREN Case Analysis: Accessed May 24, 2011 at: http://www.no-trafficking.org/reports_docs/siren/siren_cb3.pdf Year: 2009 Country: Cambodia URL: http://www.no-trafficking.org/reports_docs/siren/siren_cb3.pdf Shelf Number: 121824 Keywords: Debt BondageFishing IndustryForced LaborHuman TraffickingLabor Exploitation (Cambodia)Male Victims of Trafficking |
Author: Verité Title: Research on Indicators of Forced Labor in the Supply Chain of Tuna in the Philippines Summary: Verité carried out research on the presence of indicators of forced labor in the production of ten goods in seven countries from 2008 through 2011. Research was carried out on the production of shrimp in Bangladesh; Brazil-nuts, cattle, corn, and peanuts in Bolivia; sugar in the Dominican Republic; coffee in Guatemala; fish in Indonesia; rubber in Liberia; and tuna in the Philippines. This research was not intended to determine the existence or scale of forced labor in the countries and sectors under study, but rather to identify the presence of indicators of forced labor and factors that increased workers‘ vulnerability to labor exploitation. Context / Objectives The Philippines ranks second in the world for tuna caught and fifth in canned tuna production.1 This research was carried out in General Santos City, which is known as the ―Tuna Capital‖ of the Philippines. Due in part to overfishing, yields and profits have been decreasing over the past several years. This has led to a downturn in related parts of the supply chain such as canning and processing. While the tuna fishing sector dominates the economy of General Santos City, recent downward trends have put pressure on workers in the sector. While much attention has been paid to the environmental and economic aspects of the Philippines tuna sector, little has been paid to labor conditions, and even less to specific indicators of forced labor. Within this context, the primary objectives of Verité‘s research were to: obtain background information on certain areas of the tuna sector in the Philippines; create a methodology to study the presence of indicators of forced labor in the Philippines tuna sector; identify and document indicators of forced labor among workers in the Philippines tuna sector; document the broader working conditions that workers in the tuna sector experience; and determine the risk factors for indicators of forced labor and other forms of exploitation in the particular areas of the Philippines tuna sector. Details: Amherst, MA: Verité, 2012(?). 139p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 23, 2013 at: http://www.verite.org/sites/default/files/images/Research%20on%20Indicators%20of%20Forced%20Labor%20in%20the%20Philippines%20Tuna%20Sector__9.16.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Philippines URL: http://www.verite.org/sites/default/files/images/Research%20on%20Indicators%20of%20Forced%20Labor%20in%20the%20Philippines%20Tuna%20Sector__9.16.pdf Shelf Number: 128093 Keywords: Fishing IndustryForced Labor (Philippines)Human Rights AbusesTuna Industry |
Author: Reuchlin, J.W. Title: Dalhousie Marine Piracy Project The Economic Impacts of Piracy on the Commercial Shipping Industry: A Regional Perspective Summary: This report assesses the economic impacts of maritime piracy on the commercial shipping industry. For the purpose of this report this industry consists of maritime transport and fisheries. The maritime transport industry includes the transport of cargo and passengers. Both form an important part of the global economy. For example 75% of the total world trade measured in tonnes and 59% in terms of value is transported by sea (Mandryk, 2009). With regard to the maritime transport of passengers, the cruise industry accommodated an estimated 15 million passengers in 2010 (FCCA, 2011) and 1.7 billion people made use of ferries in 2007 (IMO, 2011). The total amount of persons that make use of maritime transport is even higher when considering the use of yachts around the world. The fishing industry is equally important as it provides over 34 million people employment as fishers and the estimated first-sale value of the captured fish was US$ 93.9 billion in 2008 (FAO, 2010). In recent years piracy has increasingly become a threat for the commercial shipping industry. There are four geographic regions in which almost all acts piracy and armed robbery occur. These four large regions are: Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), Southeast Asia (SeA), the Gulf of Guinea (GoG), and the Northern and Western Indian Ocean (NWIO). Details: Halifax, Nova Scotia: Dalhousie University, 2012. 69p. Source: Internet Resource: Marine Affairs Program Technical Report #6: Accessed May 21, 2013 at: http://marineaffairsprogram.dal.ca/Files/Dalhousie-Marine-Affairs-Program-Technical-Report-%236-2012-12.pdf Year: 2012 Country: International URL: http://marineaffairsprogram.dal.ca/Files/Dalhousie-Marine-Affairs-Program-Technical-Report-%236-2012-12.pdf Shelf Number: 128766 Keywords: Economics of CrimeFishing IndustryMaritime CrimesPiracy/Pirates |
Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Title: Model Scheme on Port State Measures to Combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing Summary: This document contains the text of the Model Scheme on Port State Measures to Combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing. An FAO Expert Consultation to Review Port State Measures to Combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing was convened in 2002 with a view to facilitating the implementation of the 2001 FAO International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing. The Consultation focused its work on a paper entitled “Port State Control of Foreign Fishing Vessels”. Inter alia, it discussed elements that could be included in a regional memorandum of understanding (MOU) on port State measures to combat IUU fishing. The Consultation acknowledged that such a MOU could serve as an effective tool to enhance responsible fisheries management. Subsequently, in 2004, a FAO Technical Consultation to Review Port State Measures to Combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing was held. It was convened on the recommendation of the 2003 FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI). The Consultation addressed (i) substantive issues relating to the role of the port State in combating IUU fishing and (ii) principles and guidelines for the establishment of regional memoranda on port States measures. The Consultation approved a Model Scheme on Port State Measures to Combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing. COFI in 2005, in endorsing the report and recommendations of the 2004 Technical Consultation, agreed that follow-up work to the Consultation should be undertaken, especially with respect to operationalizing the Model Scheme. The Governments of Japan, Norway, Sweden and the United States of America contributed financially through the FAO FishCode Programme to the preparatory activities leading to the development and publication of the Model Scheme. Details: Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2007. 59p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 22, 2013 at: ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/a0985t/a0985t00.pdf Year: 2007 Country: International URL: Shelf Number: 128774 Keywords: Fishing IndustryIllegal FishingMaritime CrimesWildlife Crimes |
Author: Stiles, Margot L. Title: Stolen Seafood: The Impact of Pirate Fishing on Our Oceans Summary: Pirate fishing may be understood best by standing on the beach and gazing out to sea. Almost all crime at sea takes place beyond the horizon line, hidden from view. This vast wilderness is exploited not only for fish, but as a hiding place for criminal activities. Stolen fish are caught illegally, evading a wide range of safeguards to undercut the costs of doing business. Blatant violation of catch limits, gear restrictions and safety precautions are frequently carried out by a small fraction of fishermen, undermining the efforts of responsible fishing companies. The resulting damage to marine resources can lead to smaller catches, slowed recovery of depleted stocks or even collapse for the most vulnerable fisheries. Pirate, or illegal, fishing is often lumped together with unregulated and unreported fishing under the abbreviation “IUU.” Unregulated fishing takes place in nations that lack the resources to establish fisheries laws or monitoring. Some unreported fishing stems from a lack of scientific data collection, while other unreported catches conceal illegal activity. These three dimensions of illegal fishing are a major threat to the oceans, consumers and seafood businesses around the world. Details: Washington, DC: Oceana, 2013. 28p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 25, 2013 at: http://oceana.org/sites/default/files/reports/Oceana_StolenSeafood.pdf Year: 2013 Country: International URL: http://oceana.org/sites/default/files/reports/Oceana_StolenSeafood.pdf Shelf Number: 128825 Keywords: Fishing IndustryIllegal FishingMaritime CrimeNatural ResourcesPirate FishingWildlife Crimes |
Author: Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) Title: Sold to the Sea: Human Trafficking in Thailand's Fishing Industry Summary: Sold to the Sea: Human Trafficking in Thailand's Fishing Industry exposes severe human rights abuses associated with human trafficking in Thailand's fishing industry and documents the testimonies of Burmese workers, as young as 16, who were forced onto fishing vessels for many months and subjected to arduous, often violent, working conditions without pay. The report details testimonies of crew murdered at sea, and on shore, and the shocking figure from a 2009 survey by the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP) that found 59% of interviewed migrants trafficked about Thai fishing boats reported witnessing the murder of a fellow worker. Details: London: Environmental Justice Foundation, 2013. 31p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 4, 2013: http://www.ejfoundation.org/node/663 Year: 2013 Country: Thailand URL: http://www.ejfoundation.org/node/663 Shelf Number: 128930 Keywords: Fishing IndustryForced LabourHuman Trafficking (Thailand) |
Author: Jahrl, Jutta Title: Illegal Caviar Trade in Bulgaria and Romania - Results of a market survey on trade in caviar from sturgeons (Acipenseridae) Summary: Overfishing and unsustainable trade in caviar from wild sturgeons have been identified as the major direct threats to sturgeons in the Danube – one of the last mainstays of these globally threatened fish1. In the two key range States of Danube sturgeons, Romania and Bulgaria, both fishing and domestic trade in caviar from wild sturgeons are now illegal, due to general moratoria lasting until the end of 2015. However, there are unconfirmed reports that poaching continues there. The aim of this report is to provide research findings from a survey of caviar trade in Bulgaria and Romania, with a special focus on illegal trade as well as on illegal fishing of sturgeons. The goals of the survey were to collect reliable data and provide clear indications as to whether illegal caviar is available in Bulgaria and Romania in order to support the actions of national authorities controlling fishing and trade. The survey adds to Objective 6 of the “Action Plan for the conservation of sturgeons (Acipenseridae) in the Danube River Basin” in that it aims to investigate the trade in caviar including the chain of custody from fishermen to restaurant sellers and exporters of products (Action 6.5) and the implementation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) universal caviar labelling system (Action 6.3)1. The project involved local surveyors visiting selected shops, restaurants, markets, street vendors and sturgeon farms in different parts of the two countries in order to buy caviar. The survey took place from April 2011 to February 2012, with a special focus on times of peak supply or demand (e.g. spring and autumn migration times for wild caviar; Christmas and New Year). Samples were obtained from vendors and then the DNA analysed to determine the species of origin. Overall, the findings of the survey suggest that illegal fishing of sturgeons and illegal trade in caviar continues in both Romania and Bulgaria in spite of the moratoria. Details: Vienna, Austria: WWF Austria & TRAFFIC, 2013. 54p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 25, 2013 at: Year: 2013 Country: Europe URL: Shelf Number: 129159 Keywords: CaviarFishing IndustryIllegal Wildlife TradeOverfishing (Bulgaria, Romania)Wildlife ConservationWildlife CrimeWildlife Poaching |
Author: Burnett, Mark Title: Illegal Fishing in Arctic Waters: Catch of Today - Gone Tomorrow? Summary: Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing is a global concern, costing nations upwards of $10 billion (US$15.5 billion) annually. Few places are of such great concern as the Arctic, home to some of the most outstanding marine ecosystems and most productive fisheries in the world. Indeed, between them the Barents Sea cod fishery and the Russian Far Eastern pollock fishery alone account for between 20 and 25% of the global catch of whitefish. Recent years have seen significant progress in reducing - though by no means eliminating - IUU fishing in the Barents Sea. A new WWF report, Illegal Fishing in Arctic Waters, finds, however, that it remains a concern in the western Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk in the Russian Far East. Moreover, globalization of the fishing industry has resulted not only in new markets and new governance structures, but also in new challenges and obstacles to combating the truly international criminal activity that IUU fishing has become. Details: Oslo: World Wildlife Fund International Arctic Programme, 2008. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: accessed February 3, 2015 at: http://d2ouvy59p0dg6k.cloudfront.net/downloads/iuu_report_version_1_3_30apr08.pdf Year: 2008 Country: International URL: http://d2ouvy59p0dg6k.cloudfront.net/downloads/iuu_report_version_1_3_30apr08.pdf Shelf Number: 134523 Keywords: Fishing IndustryIllegal FishingMaritime CrimeNatural ResourcesWildlife Crimes |
Author: Surtees, Rebecca Title: In African waters. The trafficking of Cambodian fishers in South Africa, 2014 Summary: This NEXUS Institute-authored study explores and discusses the experiences of Cambodian men who migrated for work in the fishing industry through a legally registered recruitment agency in Cambodia and then ended up trafficked and exploited on fishing vessels off the coastline of South Africa. While estimates on the number of Cambodian men trafficked as fishers by this recruitment agency differ, what is clear is that hundreds of Cambodians were exploited in this way. This study discusses the trafficking of Cambodian men for fishing out of South Africa and/or in South African waters how the men were recruited and transported, as well as their trafficking experiences at sea. The study also discusses how these trafficked fishers were (or, more commonly, were not) identified as trafficking victims in South Africa and what assistance they did (or did not) receive when they escaped and returned home to Cambodia and sought to (re)integrate into their families and communities. The study, based on the experiences of 31 Cambodian men trafficked for fishing to South Africa between 2010 and 2013, is drawn from in-depth interviews with trafficked fishers and case files, as well as interviews with 42 key informants in Cambodia and South Africa. Details: Geneva, SWIT: International Organization for Migration; Washington, DC: NEXUS Institute, 2014. 196p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 20, 2015 at: http://publications.iom.int/bookstore/free/Nexus_AfricanWaters_web.pdf Year: 2014 Country: South Africa URL: http://publications.iom.int/bookstore/free/Nexus_AfricanWaters_web.pdf Shelf Number: 135265 Keywords: Fishermen Fishing IndustryForced Labor Human Trafficking |
Author: Newman, Stephanie Title: A case study on illegal fishing and the role of rights-based fisheries management in improving compliance Summary: This case study focuses on illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. IUU fishing refers to fishing activities that do not comply with national, regional, or international fisheries conservation or management legislation or measures. IUU fishing activities may all have serious detrimental impacts on marine ecosystems, ecosystem services, and the societies that derive benefit from such services. IUU fishing exerts additional pressure on fish stocks, which may already be under pressure from unsustainable rates of legal fishing activities, and can thereby contribute to the depletion of fish stocks. In addition to these direct impacts on target fish species, fishing activities (and therefore IUU fishing activities) can have direct impacts on non-target commercial species and nonmarketable fish, on protected and vulnerable species, and on habitats. This case study focuses on the causes, motives and incentives for committing illegal fishing. It considers the role of rights-based fisheries management systems in incentivising or dis-incentivising illegal behaviour. Rights-based management programmes convey and manage exclusive entitlements to an entity - person, company, vessel, community - to fish in a particular place at a particular time. The European Commission defines rights-based management as "a formalised system of allocating individual fishing rights to fishermen, fishing vessels, enterprises, cooperatives and fishing communities". Rights-based systems of fisheries management exist in most EU Member States in some shape or form, and the Commission sought to introduce an EU system of transferable fishing concessions (defined as a revocable user entitlement to a specific part of fishing opportunities allocated to a Member State, which the holder may transfer) in its proposal for the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). Rights-based management is found to be a potential tool to deliver better fisheries management. The adoption of rights-based management can lead to better compliance with fisheries requirements due to the interest rights holders have, their ability to lease extra quotas, etc. However, the benefits of rights-based management depend entirely on the rights being adequately determined. If fishers consider their entitlements to be insufficient or unfairly distributed, then non-compliant behaviour may occur. Rights-based management is, therefore, a mechanism to be considered within the design of fisheries management. In taking such a system forward it is importance properly to design the catch share systems to ensure the incentives work for compliance as well - i.e. to address or limit social equity concerns. Details: London: European Union Action to Fight Environmental Crime, 2015. 17p. Source: Internet Resource: Work Package 4 "Case Studies": Accessed April 30, 2015 at: http://efface.eu/sites/default/files/EFFACE_Illegal%20fishing%20and%20the%20role%20of%20rights%20based%20fisheries%20management%20in%20improving%20compliance_0.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Europe URL: http://efface.eu/sites/default/files/EFFACE_Illegal%20fishing%20and%20the%20role%20of%20rights%20based%20fisheries%20management%20in%20improving%20compliance_0.pdf Shelf Number: 135438 Keywords: Fishing IndustryIllegal Fishing (Europe)Offenses Against the Environment |
Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Title: Combating Transnational Organized Crime Committed at Sea Summary: The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is the guardian of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) and its supplementary Protocols, and of the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. The United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ), in its twentieth session in 2011 considered the problem of combating transnational organized crime committed at sea. Resolution 20/5 mandates UNODC to convene an expert meeting to "facilitate the investigation and prosecution of such cases by Member States, including by identifying gaps or possible areas for harmonization, and measures to strengthen national capacity, in particular in developing countries, to more effectively combat transnational organized crime". This Issue Paper is the product of discussions held in Vienna on 12-13 November 2012 at the expert group meeting convened pursuant to resolution 20/5 of the CCPCJ. It is also based on a desk review of research carried out on the issue, with particular emphasis on existing UNODC materials concerning transnational organized crime at sea and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Its goal is to serve as a background document to the recommendations of the expert meeting, which will be presented to the CCPCJ at its twenty-second session to be held 22-26 April 2013. The Issue Paper underscores the common and interlinked emerging crimes at sea, including piracy and armed robbery at sea, migrant smuggling and trafficking in persons, drug trafficking, organized crime within the fishing industry and oil bunkering; it identifies the applicable maritime laws and regulations and their potential gaps as well as the relevant good practices and challenges in international cooperation at the legal and operational level with respect to crimes at sea; it discusses the problems concerning the investigation and prosecution of crimes at sea, including questions such as where capacity-building is needed. Details: Vienna: UNODC, 2013. 63p. Source: Internet Resource: Issue Paper: Accessed July 22, 2015 at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/organized-crime/GPTOC/Issue_Paper_-_TOC_at_Sea.pdf Year: 2013 Country: International URL: http://www.unodc.org/documents/organized-crime/GPTOC/Issue_Paper_-_TOC_at_Sea.pdf Shelf Number: 136126 Keywords: Drug TraffickingFishing IndustryHuman SmugglingHuman TraffickingMaritime CrimeOrganized CrimePiracy |
Author: McKinnel, Tim Title: Made in Taiwan: Government Failure and Illegal, Abusive and Criminal Fisheries Summary: Illegality and criminal wrongdoing in Taiwanese fisheries are increasingly well documented. Yet too often these very serious problems are reported and dealt with by Taiwanese authorities as if they were isolated incidents - the responsibility of individual unscrupulous operators, reckless captains or poorly disciplined foreign crews. This approach serves the Taiwanese Fisheries Agency and the Taiwanese government well. Responsibility remains in the hands of individual wrongdoers. It is also entirely wrong. Pulling together a series of case studies into a single report yields a very different picture. The reality is a global Taiwanese fishing fleet operating almost entirely out of control, in which some of the most serious crimes, including murder, appalling labour abuses, illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and serious environmental impacts, are endemic and routine. This is not a failure of individual operators, but a failure of Taiwan's authorities at the highest level. Taiwan's fishing fleets supply tuna and other seafood that reaches markets around the world. The issues we highlight in this report are relevant and will be of great interest to consumers in Europe, the US, Japan and many other countries. These consumers demand higher standards than Taiwan can currently provide. Without urgent action to systematically address these problems, Taiwan risks jeopardising its fishing industry and, as importantly, its wider international trading reputation by becoming associated with tuna and seafood caught at terrible human and environmental expense. No one wants to see the demise of Taiwan's fishing fleets but it is clear that a wake-up call is needed for the Taiwanese Fisheries Agency. The threat of European sanctions for IUU looms large - there is a need for far-reaching and sustained action to avoid this. That process of change can only start with an admission: we have a problem that we need to fix. Details: Amsterdam: Greenpeace, 2016. 35p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 16, 2016 at: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/publications/oceans/2016/Taiwan-Tuna-Rpt-2016.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Taiwan URL: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/publications/oceans/2016/Taiwan-Tuna-Rpt-2016.pdf Shelf Number: 138698 Keywords: Fishing IndustryIllegal FishingWildlife Crime |
Author: Columbia, Richard H. Title: H.R. 69 The Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing Enforcement Act of 2013. A Comprehensive first-year implementation strategy for H.R.69 Summary: Earlier this year the U.S. government was forced to subsidize the commercial fishing industry in New England by $33 million, after the region's cod stocks fell to their lowest numbers in forty years. In November of 2014, the government proceeded to halt cod fishing in New England entirely for six months. At first glance, it may be difficult to perceive how the situation could get so out of hand; cod fishing is an important industry in the region and New England annually enacts new fisheries legislation to protect the valuable fish stocks. However, these regulations have proven inadequate in addressing one of New England's (and the world's) most serious issues: illegal fishing. It is estimated that roughly 24 percent of New England cod is harvested illegally, which amounts to revenue to illegal fishers of roughly $13 million. Such a high profit potential, coupled with a distinct lack of regulations enforcement by agencies like the Coast Guard has made the lure of fishing illegally more desirable than following the rules for many fishers all over the world, and the prevalence of illegal fishing has had many consequences. Not only are fish stocks dwindling and effecting global food security and the food chain, but without being able to accurately count the amount of fish caught, policymakers cannot regulate the fishing industry sustainably. Without stepping up enforcement and coordinating policies, illegal fishing will continue to ravage the fishing industry. Illegal fishing often occurs in conjunction with unreported and unregulated fishing, and together these three exploitations continue to drive unsustainable fishing practices, costing the world between $10 and $23 billion annually.1 In the U.S., the Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing Enforcement Act of 2013, known formally as H.R.69, has been proposed as a solution to fight illegal fishing in U.S. waters. This Act intends to streamline enforcement mechanisms to more effectively prevent illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing as well as increase enforcement and compliance with U.S. and international fishery regulations. The following report presents a program design and first year implementation plan for H.R.69 that will successfully deter IUU fishing in the U.S. The key forces that drive IUU fishing are financial gain and the relative ease of fishing undetected. This program targets these drivers directly by removing the financial incentive to fish illegally as well as increasing tracking and monitoring of fishing vessels. By increasing fines and penalties for IUU violations and equipping all commercial fishing vessels with satellite tracking systems, the program ensures that other U.S. fisheries do not suffer the same fate as New England's cod. In its first year, the program focuses on adding new staff resources to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) using the "20/20" plan. This plan is designed to achieve a long-term goal of decreasing illegal fishing by 20 percent through increasing investigations and enforcement personnel by 20 percent. These additions in staff significantly shape the program budget, which totals a net of about $39 million. To put this in perspective, illegal fishing cost the U.S. $46 million in lost revenue and subsidies in New England alone in 2014, making illegal fishing enforcement a financially sound choice to maintaining the status quo. Together with the program design, an ongoing program evaluation system has been developed to measure success and incorporate necessary changes, creating feedback loop. This feedback loop provides performance measurement information throughout the year, allowing NOAA and the USCG to know quickly if they're on track toward their year-end 20 percent goal, and thus to make changes if necessary. A crucial aspect of the program is the collaborative relationship between NOAA and the USCG, which will ensure that implementation of H.R. 69 uses tracking and monitoring data in combination with increased investigations to establish targeted enforcement mechanisms that deter IUU fishing. In doing so, the program will not only dissuade IUU fishing, but also guarantee continuous improvements for U.S. fisheries-ultimately creating a sustainable fishing industry. But before delving into the specifics of the program design and first year implementation process, it's important to have a full, contextual understanding of illegal fishing and its global impacts. Details: New York: Columbia University, School of International and Public Affairs, 2014. 28p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 19, 2016 at: http://mpaenvironment.ei.columbia.edu/files/2015/01/Final-Report-H.R.-69.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://mpaenvironment.ei.columbia.edu/files/2015/01/Final-Report-H.R.-69.pdf Shelf Number: 139105 Keywords: FisheriesFishing IndustryIllegal FishingWildlife CrimeWildlife Law Enforcement |
Author: Daniels, Alfonso Title: Western Africa's missing fish: The impacts of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and under-reporting catches by foreign fleets Summary: Overfishing in the world's oceans is at the centre of a crisis of sustainability. Nowhere is that crisis more visible than in western Africa. Current rates of extraction are driving several species towards extinction while jeopardising the livelihoods of artisanal fishing communities across a broad group of countries, including Senegal, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Mauritania. Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is at the heart of the problem. Drawing on a unique satellite tracking database, this report presents new evidence of the scale and pattern of IUU fishing. It focuses on 'reefers' - large-scale commercial vessels receiving and freezing fish at sea and at port - and the use of containers. We provide evidence of practices that compromise the effectiveness of multilateral governance rules aimed at curtailing IUU fishing and promoting sustainable, legal practices. Proposals set out in the report identify pathways for countries in sub-Saharan Africa to greater transparency and sustainable management of fisheries which avoids the irreversible depletion and possible extinction of species, as well as the preservation of the marine ecosystem where the fishing activities take place for countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Details: London: Overseas Development Institute, 2016. 45p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 11, 2016 at: https://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/resource-documents/10665.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Africa URL: https://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/resource-documents/10665.pdf Shelf Number: 139591 Keywords: Fishing IndustryIllegal FishingMaritime CrimeOffenses Against the Environment Wildlife Crime |
Author: U.S. Presidential Task Force on combating IUU Fishing and Seafood Fraud Title: Presidential Task Force on Combating IUU Fishing and Seafood Fraud: Action Plan for Implementing the Task Force Recommendations Summary: On June 17, 2014, the White House released a Presidential Memorandum entitled "Establishing a Comprehensive Framework to Combat Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing and Seafood Fraud." Among other actions, the Memorandum established a Presidential Task Force on Combating Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing and Seafood Fraud (Task Force), co-chaired by the Departments of Commerce and State with 12 other federal agency members. The Task Force was directed to report to the President within 180 days with "recommendations for the implementation of a comprehensive framework of integrated programs to combat IUU fishing and seafood fraud that emphasizes areas of greatest need." Those recommendations were provided to the President through National Ocean Council and published in the Federal Register on December 18, 2014. The 15 recommendations are broad in scope and call on agencies to take concrete and specific actions to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and seafood fraud throughout the seafood supply chain. By circumventing conservation and management measures and engaging in fraudulent practices, entities engaging in IUU fishing and seafood fraud undermine the sustainability of U.S. and global fish stocks and negatively impact general ecosystem health. At the same time, IUU and fraudulent seafood products distort legal markets and unfairly compete with the catch and seafood products of lawabiding fishers and seafood industries. The actions to address these issues fall under four general themes: 1) combating IUU fishing and seafood fraud at the international level; 2) strengthening enforcement and enhancing enforcement tools; 3) creating and expanding partnerships with non-federal entities to identify and eliminate seafood fraud and the sale of IUU seafood products in U.S. commerce; and 4) increasing information available on seafood products through additional traceability requirements. Each of these components is inter-related and complementary such that information and action developed under one supports the others. For example, these actions include establishing an integrated program that traces the path of seafood products from harvest or production to entry into U.S. commerce. This traceability program will feed enhanced information streams into improved enforcement targeting of illegal or fraudulent seafood products through newly integrated risk assessment and enforcement strategies. Similarly, the actions include efforts to improve the international governance of seafood harvest and trade that will complement our domestic efforts. Further, federal agencies are called upon to work with Congress to ensure that officials have the range of authorities necessary to identify and keep IUU seafood and fraudulent seafood products out of U.S. commerce. Details: Washington, DC: The Task Force, 2016. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 2, 2016 at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/ia/iuu/noaa_taskforce_report_final.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/ia/iuu/noaa_taskforce_report_final.pdf Shelf Number: 140120 Keywords: Consumer FraudFishing IndustryIllegal FishingPort SecurityUnregulated Fishing |
Author: World Wildlife Fund Title: Illegal Fishing: Which fish species are at highest risk from illegal and unreported fishing? Summary: New analysis by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) finds that over 85 percent of global fish stocks can be considered at significant risk of Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing. This evaluation is based on the most recent comprehensive estimates of IUU fishing and includes the worlds' major commercial stocks or species groups, such as all those that are regularly assessed by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Based on WWF's findings, the majority of the stocks, 54 percent, are categorized as at high risk of IUU, with an additional 32 perent judged to be at moderate risk. Of the 567 stocks that were assessed, the findings show that 485 stocks fall into these two categories. More than half of the world's most overexploited stocks are at the highest risk of IUU fishing. Examining IUU risk by location, the WWF analysis shows that in more than one-third of the world's ocean basins as designated by the FAO, all of these stocks were at high or moderate risk of IUU fishing. The U.S. imports more than 100 different wild-caught species, which represent more than 400 diverse wild-caught products. In October 2015, the U.S. National Ocean Council (NOC) Working Group on IUU Fishing and Seafood Fraud released a list of species it identified as "at risk" of IUU fishing. While there is some alignment between the species the NOC identified as "at risk" of IUU fishing and the species identified in this study, the WWF analysis demonstrates that IUU fishing is pervasive across species and regions. An effective solution to ending IUU imports into the United States must ultimately address all species entering the U.S. market. Details: Washington, DC: WWF, 2015. 95p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 3, 2016 at: http://assets.worldwildlife.org/publications/834/files/original/Fish_Species_at_Highest_Risk_from_IUU_Fishing_WWF_FINAL.pdf?1446130921 Year: 2015 Country: International URL: http://assets.worldwildlife.org/publications/834/files/original/Fish_Species_at_Highest_Risk_from_IUU_Fishing_WWF_FINAL.pdf?1446130921 Shelf Number: 140136 Keywords: Fishing IndustryIllegal FishingMaritime Crime Unregulated FishingWildlife Crimes |
Author: Ludwig, Markus Title: Economic Shocks in the Fisheries Sector and Maritime Piracy Summary: For a panel of 109 coastal countries we show that negative economic shocks in the fisheries sector are associated with an increase in maritime piracy. Our identification strategy uses the variation in the phytoplankton abundance off the individual countries' coasts, measured by satellite data, as a source of such shocks. We find that plankton abundance is positively related to fish catches but negatively associated with the incidence of piracy, onset and the absolute number of pirate attacks. Our instrumental variable estimates indicate that a one percent increase in fish catches reduces the risk of piracy occurring by one percentage point. Details: Munich: Munich Personal RePEc Archive, 2014. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: MPRA Paper No. 56959: Accessed December 7, 2016 at: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/56959/1/MPRA_paper_56959.pdf Year: 2014 Country: International URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/56959/1/MPRA_paper_56959.pdf Shelf Number: 140343 Keywords: Fishing IndustryMaritime Crime Maritime Piracy Pirates/Piracy |
Author: Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) Title: Slavery at Sea: The Continued Plight of Trafficked Migrants in Thailand's Fishing Industry Summary: In the last two years, nothing has changed on the issue of human trafficking in fisheries... It just stays the same. Nothing new, no improvements – because the problems are still there. Kyaw Lin Oo, interpreter for victims of human trafficking Thailand is the third largest seafood exporter in the world, • with seafood exports valued at $7.3 billion in 2011. The European Union imported more than $1.15 billion (€835.5 million) worth of seafood from Thailand in 2012, while the value of imports by the United States exceeded $1.6 billion in 2013. The Thai fishing industry remains heavily reliant on -- trafficked and forced labour. It is clear that rising overheads, exacerbated by the need to spend more time at sea for smaller catches due to over-fishing and chronic mismanagement of the fishery will continue to encourage these abuses. As boat operators have looked to cut costs, working -- conditions and wages have suffered, causing many workers to turn away from the industry and forcing some employers to rely on criminal trafficking networks to meet the labour shortfall. NGOs, international organisations, governments and -- industry have identified the Thai seafood sector as an area of high concern for forced and trafficked labour. Thailand has spent four consecutive years on the Tier 2 "Watchlist" of the US Department of State's Trafficking in Persons report and now faces a mandatory downgrade to Tier 3 in 2014 if the major issues are not adequately addressed. To address a series of criticisms made by observers, -- Thailand's Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (MSDHS) released the 2013 National Action Plan to Prevent and Suppress Human Trafficking (NAP). The document itself is broad in scope and undermined by vague objectives. EJF investigations have revealed evidence that the Thai Government is falling far short of critical commitments made in the action plan. Investigations in 2014 document the continued prevalence -- of trafficking in the Thai fishing industry, with operators now taking greater precaution to avoid detection, including transhipping trafficked workers at sea. Corruption remains a major obstacle to efforts to -- combat human trafficking in Thailand. EJF investigations uncovered evidence of continued police collusion in the trafficking and exploitation of migrant workers aboard Thai fishing boats. Further, EJF's investigations reveal that local officials often provide protection and even assistance to unscrupulous brokers and business owners engaged in the trafficking and abuse of migrant workers. The case of the 14 men rescued from a port in Kantang -- first reported in EJF's 2013 "Sold to the Sea report" reveals serious structural failings in how Thai authorities deal with human trafficking victims and cases more generally. After nearly a year in a Government shelter and little progress on their case, the victims told EJF in 2014 that they are frustrated and now more focused on returning home than pursuing their case. Without determined action at the highest levels of -- Government to identify and successfully prosecute criminals, corrupt officials and unscrupulous business operators, alongside the introduction and enforcement of comprehensive measures to regulate Thailand's fishing fleets and recruitment practices, violence, exploitation and slavery will remain an ongoing feature of Thailand's seafood industry. Details: London: EJF, 2014. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 9, 2016 at: https://ejfoundation.org/sites/default/files/public/EJF_Slavery-at-Sea_report_2014_web-ok.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Thailand URL: https://ejfoundation.org/sites/default/files/public/EJF_Slavery-at-Sea_report_2014_web-ok.pdf Shelf Number: 145617 Keywords: Fishing IndustryForced LaborHuman TraffickingIllegal FishingMigrant LaborWildlife Crime |
Author: Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) Title: Thailand's Seafood Slaves: Human Trafficking, Slavery and Murder in Kantang's Fishing Industry Summary: -- Human trafficking and slavery are global problems. It is estimated that as many as 35.8 million men, women and children are currently victims of human trafficking around the world. -- Thailand is the 30th largest economy in the world with a GDP of US$404 billion. -- The Thai seafood industry employs more than 800,000 people, while seafood exports are valued at $6 billion. -- A growing number of independent reports over the past decade have documented abuses of workers trafficked on to Thai fishing vessels, including bonded, forced and slave labour and the use of extreme violence. One report by the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP) found that 59% of trafficked migrants interviewed aboard Thai fishing vessels reported witnessing the murder of a fellow worker. -- Thailand's fish stocks and marine biodiversity are in crisis. The Thai fishing industry has undergone decades of over- fishing and astonishingly poor fisheries management. Rapid industrialisation during the 20 th Century has resulted in too many vessels using destructive and unsustainable fishing methods to catch too many fish. The overall catch per unit effort (CPUE) in both the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea has plummeted by more than 86% since 1966, making Thai waters among the most over-fished regions on the planet. -- The pressure on Thailand's over-exploited fish stocks has been and continues to be due in large part to the demand for animal feeds and farmed shrimp. The fishmeal industry has masked the true economic and ecological costs of over- fishing by over-valuing the trash fish which constitutes one of its key raw materials. -- The lack of an adequate fisheries management regime and effective enforcement along with extensive corruption have facilitated overfishing in Thailand, which has generated economic pressures that fuel the ongoing, widespread use of slave labour. -- Exhausted fish stocks mean that vessels are staying at sea longer and going further afield, often fishing illegally in other nations’ territorial waters, to bring in diminishing catches. In turn operators are using human trafficking networks and bonded, forced and slave labour to crew their vessels and depress costs. This largely export-focused industry is able to carry on providing cheap products to western markets as a direct result of these human rights abuses. Consumers in the west are eating product contaminated with slavery, 'pirate' fishing, corruption and criminality. Details: London: EJF, 2015. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 9, 2016 at: http://ejfoundation.org/sites/default/files/public/EJF-Thailand-Seafood-Slaves-low-res.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Thailand URL: http://ejfoundation.org/sites/default/files/public/EJF-Thailand-Seafood-Slaves-low-res.pdf Shelf Number: 145618 Keywords: Fishing IndustryForced laborHomicidesHuman TraffickingIllegal FishingOverfishingWildlife Crime |
Author: FishWise Title: Trafficked: Human Rights Abuses in the Seafood Industry Summary: It is important for companies to focus on social responsibility in supply chains, especially human rights, in order to demonstrate a real commitment to people, planet, and profit. Documentation of human trafficking and forced labor in seafood supply chains has been growing with increasing media attention, nongovernmental organization (NGO) investigations, and government reports. Discussions of environmental sustainability within the seafood industry are now commonplace, but efforts to improve human rights in the industry are nascent and just beginning to gain the momentum necessary to catalyze real change. In the last five years, seafood companies have created sustainable seafood sourcing policies, and are now working to meet the commitments within them. Human and labor rights are often not incorporated into these policies for seafood, as the historical focus of such efforts has been on industries such as coffee, minerals, and textiles. The seafood industry is not free of these concerns however, and the time is ripe for companies to expand their sustainable seafood policies to address these issues. This is appropriate because environmental sustainability and human rights issues do not operate independently. Vessels and companies operating illegally often commit environmental and social crimes in tandem. Eliminating human rights abuses in seafood supply chains is not an easy task. Challenges include corruption, exemptions within international standards for fishing vessels, lack of transparency via the use of flags of convenience and transhipment, the globalized nature of the supply chain, lack of enforcement, incomplete traceability, and the prevalence of illegal fishing. Amidst these challenges there are also opportunities. Brand value, shareholder opinion, and corporate social responsibility can benefit from companies addressing this issue in an honest and transparent manner. After improvements have been made, companies can actively promote the associated success stories, such as social and fair trade compliance, engagement in fishery improvements, and support for entrepreneurial ventures in the developing world. An important step toward mitigating, and eventually eliminating these risks is to ensure comprehensive traceability systems are in place throughout the supply chain. Additionally, companies need to create policies to ensure specific attention is paid to address human rights in seafood supply chains. Conducting a risk assessment, seeking certification, and creating fishery improvement projects to address deficiencies can help companies improve and meet their commitments. Engaging with countries to ratify and implement relevant legislation, eliminating illegal fishing globally, and contributing financially to international efforts to aid victims of trafficking will also enable progress. Lastly, communicating success stories and transparent self-reporting will inform consumers and stakeholders of the problem and ensure they are aware of companies' progress towards eliminating modern slavery and illegal fishing. This white paper aims to: 1) serve as a resource for seafood businesses seeking to prevent and eliminate human rights abuses in their supply chains and 2) improve the knowledge base and coordination of NGOs and other groups working on human and labor rights within the industry. It provides an overview of human rights issues in seafood supply chains, and then explores how more than fifty international and regional government programs, certification systems, NGOs, companies, and industry groups are working on human and labor rights. Companies can review the recommended next steps in this report to address human rights within their own businesses Details: Santa Cruz, CA: FishWise, 2013. 55p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 26, 2017 at: https://www.fishwise.org/images/pdfs/fishwise_human_rights_seafood_white_paper_nov_2013.pdf Year: 2013 Country: International URL: https://www.fishwise.org/images/pdfs/fishwise_human_rights_seafood_white_paper_nov_2013.pdf Shelf Number: 145801 Keywords: Fishing IndustryForced LaborHuman Rights AbusesMaritime CrimeModern SlaverySeafood IndustrySupply Chains |
Author: FishWise Title: Trafficked II: An Updated Summary of Human Rights Abuses in the Seafood Industry Summary: Media outlets are increasingly covering human rights abuses in seafood supply chains all over the world. Unfortunately, many seafood companies who have worked hard to create environmentally sustainable seafood sourcing policies remain unaware that human rights abuses are occurring, most likely in their own supply chains. These companies have made a commitment to provide their customers with environmentally sustainable seafood products, a commitment that could be undermined by these human rights abuses. Trafficking and forced labor, among other abuses, have been documented in several supply chains of popular seafood items in the United States. In such supply chains human rights abuses are not the only concern - often fishing interests that commit social crimes against their workers are also committing environmental crimes. The time has come for companies to take responsibility for both environmental sustainability and social aspects of their seafood supply chains. This can reduce the risk of negative attention as documented human rights abuses continue to grab headlines and also provide opportunities to improve brand value with consumers. This is the second release of a white paper that aims to serve as a resource for seafood businesses seeking to prevent and eliminate such human rights abuses. It provides an overview of both human rights issues in seafood supply chains and the major challenges to reform, including corruption, lack of transparency, lack of enforcement, and the prevalence of illegal fishing. It explores how more than fifty international and regional government programs, certification systems, NGOs, companies, and industry groups are working on human and labor rights. Companies can use the recommended steps in this report to address human rights in an honest and transparent manner. This report can also serve as a tool to help conservation NGOs and human rights experts join forces to improve human rights in the seafood industry. Human rights experts have traditionally focused their work on industries such as coffee, minerals and textiles and are not familiar with the seafood industry. Many ocean conservation groups lack this expertise, but have extensive knowledge of the seafood industry. This paper explores ways to connect these two important allies. This revised version includes: - An updated summary of media stories and reports on human rights abuses in seafood supply chains that have been released since November 2013. - The results of an online survey of the following stakeholder groups: NGOs, the seafood industry, and seafood consumers. - Additional groups working on human rights that could serve as resources on these issues. Details: Santa Cruz, CA: FishWise, 2014. 69p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 26, 2017 at: https://www.fishwise.org/images/pdfs/Trafficked_II_FishWise_2014.pdf Year: 2014 Country: International URL: https://www.fishwise.org/images/pdfs/Trafficked_II_FishWise_2014.pdf Shelf Number: 145804 Keywords: Fishing Industry Forced Labor Human Rights AbusesMaritime CrimeModern SlaverySeafood IndustrySupply Chains |
Author: International Organization for Migration Title: Report on Human Trafficking, Forced Labour and Fisheries Crime in the Indonesian Fishing Industry Summary: In 2015 the mass rescue of foreign fishers trafficked for labour exploitation on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing vessels in Benjina and Ambon highlighted the lack of adequate policing of the fishing industry and a lack of scrutiny of working conditions on vessels and in fish processing plants. The case highlighted the expansive nature of this transnational criminal venture. Victims were recruited from numerous countries and forced to work illegally within Indonesia. National laws and regulations were breached and international conventions ignored. Front companies were established and illegally caught fish transshipped in the Indonesian EEZ and boundary areas, thus preventing interception by the Indonesian authorities. Ultimately the catch entered the global supply chain and was handled by legitimate suppliers of fish, unaware of its provenance and the human toll behind the catch. The situation in Benjina and Ambon is symptomatic of a much broader and insidious trade in people, not only in the Indonesian and Thai fishing industries, but indeed globally. This research provides a glimpse into a far-reaching and well-entrenched criminal industry operating alongside the legitimate fishing industry, and often overlapping. The situation represents the spread of transnational organized crime at sea and the threat it poses as a maritime security threat to nations, and a human security threat to fishers, seafarers and fishing communities. Human Trafficking and Forced Labour in Indonesia fishing industry is characterized by: - systematic and highly organized deceptive recruitment and exploitation of fishers and seafarers from multiple source countries in South East Asia; witness testimony of murder and the unlawful disposal of corpses; - extreme cases of labour exploitation with fishers working in excess of 20 hours per day up to 7 days per week; and - a lack of awareness at the local level of human trafficking and forced labour and associated criminal activity. IUU fishing in Indonesia is characterized by: - overlapping Indonesian government legislation and regulations has created confusion over the responsibilities of key government bodies responsible for the oversight of worker recruitment, conditions, and monitoring of fishing companies, manning agencies, and fishing vessels; - collaboration of more than 2 people: double-flagged vessels are registered in two different countries. This act of forging the deletion certificate is done by at least the ship-owner, the backers and field actors; - suspected commission of serious criminal offences: illegal fishers violate numerous laws, from deactivating the transmitter, using prohibited and destructive fishing gear, illegal transshipment, forging vessel documents and the logbook; - foreign masters working illegally for indefinite periods of time: although there has been a national law prohibiting the use of foreign crews, there are still lots of foreign fishing masters working on board vessels undertaking lengthy voyages. This shows that there is considerable planning to conduct the crime; - the pursuit of profit and/or power: the very reason for fisheries crime is to gain more profit and financial benefits with the least minimum effort in regards to compliance and exploiting the corruptible tendencies of some high level authorities and politicians; - operating at an international level: illegal fishers operate in multiple countries, fish in various areas, fly flags of convenience and land their catch directly to another State, and sell the fish in the international market at high cost; and - using commercial or businesslike structures: most illegal fishing operations are managed using large companies, often established with foreign investment, have valid licences, yet they are violating laws and evading taxes. - That port authorities record the movements of vessels, particularly foreign affiliated vessels; - That port officials fisheries investigators be trained in identifying indicators of human trafficking , forced labour and IUU fishing; - Minimise overlapping regulation / authority between Government agencies; - That all deaths on board fishing vessels or in port are investigated and an autopsy performed; - That Flag States take more responsibility for the actions of IUU Fishing vessels flying under their flags; - Efforts to establish a global vessel record (registry) are supported; - Support increased inspections and accessibility to fishing vessels and remote fish processing plants; - Support an increased role for investigators (navy, marine police and fisheries) to conduct inspections of fishing vessels for evidence of trafficking and IUU fishing; - Conduct human rights due diligence and human rights audits on fishing companies before issuing licences; - Establish centres for fishers and seafarers at ports (centre for fishers to report abuse, injuries, deaths and seek protection); - Support multi-agency inspections and investigations at ports; - Introduce a multi traceability policy to prevent human rights violations and reduce IUU fishing; and - Increase and consumer awareness of human trafficking in the fishing industry. Details: Geneva, SWIT: IOM, 2016. 148p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 26, 2017 at: https://www.iom.int/sites/default/files/country/docs/indonesia/Human-Trafficking-Forced-Labour-and-Fisheries-Crime-in-the-Indonesian-Fishing-Industry-IOM.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Indonesia URL: https://www.iom.int/sites/default/files/country/docs/indonesia/Human-Trafficking-Forced-Labour-and-Fisheries-Crime-in-the-Indonesian-Fishing-Industry-IOM.pdf Shelf Number: 145805 Keywords: Fishing IndustryForced LaborHuman Rights AbusesHuman TraffickingIllegal FishingMaritime CrimeModern SlaveryPort Security |
Author: Haenlein, Cathy Title: Below the Surface: How Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing Threatens our Security Summary: Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is conventionally treated by governments worldwide as the result of technical regulatory infringements. As such, it is often deemed a matter for industry regulators and dismissed as a trivial issue insofar as it relates to national security. This diagnosis is flawed. Certainly, IUU fishing is often small in scale and conducted by artisanal fishers out of ignorance of laws, or opportunism. Yet there is also evidence that much of today's IUU fishing activity takes place on an organised, systematic scale across multiple jurisdictions. Testament to this are the volumes involved. Although numerous difficulties affect such calculations, global losses to IUU fishing have been estimated at some $10-23.5 billion annually - equivalent to 11-26 million tonnes of fish per year. The result is the plunder of the world's oceans, threatening not only marine ecosystems, but also the security of human populations. Large-scale IUU fishing endangers food security, threatens livelihoods, undermines the rule of law and deprives states of revenues. It also intersects with other crimes, further amplifying the threat to security. Yet research on these security dimensions is limited and fragmented; our understanding of their dynamics remains partial. Policy and practical responses, meanwhile, remain ill-suited, failing to keep pace with the complexity of the threat posed. Recommendations This paper makes the following recommendations for governments, NGOs and international agencies looking to address the security dimensions of large-scale IUU fishing: 1. Recognise large-scale IUU fishing as transnational organised crime. There is a critical need for policymakers and practitioners to treat high-volume IUU fishing as more than a fisheries management problem. Large-scale IUU fishing is transnational organised crime and must be recognised and treated as such. A paradigm shift is needed in the way we view and respond to the phenomenon, to ensure that responses are commensurate with the scale, complexity and diversity of the threat faced. 2. Recognise large-scale IUU fishing as 'convergence crime'. Awareness that large-scale IUU fishing commonly occurs in conjunction with other crime types must increase. Policymakers must adapt to a more sophisticated operating reality, with front line investigators trained to recognise not just IUU fishing, but also crimes such as human trafficking and corruption. Broader responses must draw on expertise associated with all crime types involved, in an integrated, multi-agency approach. 3. Strengthen domestic legislation. States must strengthen fisheries legislation and harmonise all other relevant laws, such that penalties and the likelihood of their application create real deterrence. Domestic criminalisation must meet the criteria - a four-year minimum custodial sentence - for large-scale IUU fishing to qualify as serious crime under the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC). 4. Strengthen international responses. International-level reform is required to ensure that IUU fishing is recognised under UNTOC, conferring binding obligations on 179 states to cooperate on law enforcement action. Global bodies must also clarify roles and responsibilities, address overlapping mandates and deepen cooperative arrangements. 5. Strengthen monitoring and enforcement. Capacity building to interdict those engaged in large-scale IUU fishing and associated crimes must be provided. To further facilitate monitoring and enforcement, vessels above a certain size and/or operating beyond the jurisdiction of flag states must be required to have International Maritime Organization numbers - as must their owners. 6. Bolster information sharing. Overlaps between IUU fishing and other crimes challenge the common separation of national fisheries management and policing agencies. Flexibility is needed to match perpetrators' shifting portfolios, as is stronger collaboration between coast guards, customs, immigration, anti-narcotics, fisheries management and financial crime agencies, as well as international organisations. 7. Expand regional approaches and partnerships. Promising initiatives already underway must be more fully resourced and prioritised. Innovative regional and multisectoral approaches, such as FISH-i Africa, should be expanded, scaled up and replicated as models in other, particularly financially constrained, locations. 8. Bolster efforts to prevent fish laundering. More states must be persuaded to ratify the Food and Agriculture Organization's Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate IUU Fishing, to ensure that no port is used as a shelter for non-compliance. Implementation of the Agreement must also be supported through sustained capacity building in developing coastal and small-island states. 9. Expand multilateral initiatives. In light of its organised and poly-threat nature, the priority assigned to large-scale IUU fishing under multilateral maritime security initiatives should increase. Defence and security-focused programmes that prioritise maritime security but exclude IUU fishing should be expanded to include it. 10. Follow the money. Financial investigation tools should be used to reveal ownership information, uncover money laundering and tax fraud, and make strategic arrests of the true beneficiaries of high-volume IUU fishing. To enable this, legislative reform in many jurisdictions to provide for IUU fishing as a predicate offence to money laundering is crucial. 11. Prosecute under alternative legislation. Crime convergence provides options to arrest and prosecute perpetrators using laws other than those relating to fisheries. For example, prosecution of large-scale IUU operators under economic crimes legislation may increase the prospects for imposing substantial penalties where associated crimes carry weightier sentences. 12. End use of flags of convenience. To bolster enforcement, the exploitation of flags of convenience must be ended. This could be achieved by encouraging flag-of-convenience states to close registries, by requiring coastal states not to issue licences to flag-of-convenience vessels, and by pursuing action by regional fisheries management organisations and international bodies. Details: London: Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI), 2017. 56p. Source: Internet Resource: Occasional Papers: Accessed July 29, 2017 at: https://rusi.org/sites/default/files/201707_rusi_below_the_surface_haenlein.pdf Year: 2017 Country: International URL: https://rusi.org/sites/default/files/201707_rusi_below_the_surface_haenlein.pdf Shelf Number: 146595 Keywords: Fishing IndustryIllegal FishingOrganized CrimeUnregulated FishingWildlife Crimes |
Author: Stop Illegal Fishing Title: FISH-i Africa: Our future Summary: A new report from Stop Illegal Fishing takes a look at the work of the FISH-i Africa Task Force, FISH-i Africa: Our future focuses attention on the actions and cooperation that are still needed to tackle illegal fishing in the Western Indian Ocean. Sandy Davies, Stop Illegal Fishing commented "The scale and extent of illegal activity in the Western Indian Ocean has come as a real surprise to all of those involved in FISH-i Africa. We started out with the traditional expectation that most operators set out to comply with rules, or opportunistically took advantage of gaps and loopholes. But what the FISH-i investigations and analysis have shown is that in fact there are a significant number of operators who set out, deliberately and systematically to act illegally. They do this through falsifying information, forging documents, hiding company information behind secretive shelf companies and flags of non-compliance. Even when caught red handed it is difficult for coastal States to exercise effective sanctions and penalties as vessels routinely abscond from authorities, change name and change flag." FISH-i Africa plans to counter these systematic illegalities with a systematic programme of 'VIGILANCE' which will verify and cross-check the documentation and characteristics of all the vessels licensed to or flagged by the FISH-i members. "This is a significant undertaking involving around 500 vessels and a lot of work, but we believe this is the most effective means we have to end illegal fishing in this region." Davies added, "We've had a strong response already to VIGILANCE and will be looking to work with a range of organisations and funding partners." 'FISH-i Africa: Our future' sets out a real agenda for change; looking at the roles and responsibilities that port, flag, coastal and market States can play. Nicholas Ntheketha, Chair of FISH-i states, "FISH-i has been a big success and has achieved real cooperation with tangible results, but as we look forward we see the need to develop this cooperation further, we need to incorporate greater contact and communication with key port and flag States and we need to make sure that we have strong cooperation with all the relevant authorities at the national level." Stop Illegal Fishing Chairperson Elsa da Gloria Patria welcomed the publication, "FISH-i Africa and the VIGILANCE programme offer a great opportunity to clean up the illegal activity that is taking place in the fisheries sector. Our countries and our people rely on the ocean for their livelihoods and their development we need to make sure that our resources are protected and our blue economies get a chance to thrive." Details: Gaborone, Botswana: Stop Illegal Fishing, 2017. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 28, 2017 at: https://www.fish-i-africa.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/FISH-i_Africa_Our_future_WEB.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Africa URL: https://www.fish-i-africa.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/FISH-i_Africa_Our_future_WEB.pdf Shelf Number: 147489 Keywords: Fishing IndustryIllegal FishingOffenses Against the EnvironmentUnregulated FishingWildlife Crime |
Author: Lau, Wilson Title: An assessment of South African dried abalone Haliotis midae consumption and trade in Hong Kong Summary: The report, "An assessment of South African dried abalone Haliotis midae consumption and trade in Hong Kong," produced by TRAFFIC as part of the USAID-funded Wildlife TRAPS Project, shows that South African abalone imports to Hong Kong have increased in recent years, despite severe restrictions on wild harvest. It estimates that of South African abalone imports to Hong Kong in 2015, 65% was illegally sourced and trafficked compared to the 35% that was legally wild-caught or produced through aquaculture operations. In the past decade, efforts to protect the legal abalone fishery have been undermined by international underground criminal networks. After South Africa took a number of regulatory measures in 2007 and 2008 to protect crashing abalone populations, the new report reveals that illicit trade routes shifted. Instead of mainly exporting poached abalone directly to Hong Kong, traffickers increasingly smuggled abalone to nearby African countries, such as Mozambique and Zimbabwe, before re-exporting the product. Between 2008-2015, 61% of South African abalone exports to Hong Kong came from African countries outside South Africa, a significant increase from the 36% that was exported from outside South Africa between 2000-2007. Aside from one small farm in Namibia, no other African country legally exports the marine mollusk. This highly profitable trade is managed by organised criminal syndicates that reach sellers and buyers in Hong Kong who may or may not realise their involvement is bankrolling illegal activities. Once poached abalone arrives in Hong Kong, under the current legislation, it can be openly traded and sold in markets alongside legally sourced abalone. The report shows that the majority of abalone traders, about 80%, are aware of some form of illegal activity surrounding South African abalone, but less than half of consumers had any knowledge of abalone poaching in South Africa. Current levels of abalone poaching have serious implications for the sustainability of the South African fishery, which in turn, could have rippling impacts on the market. One-third of all abalone imported by Hong Kong is of South African origin, and the report's findings indicate that the availability of this abalone, along with its quality and reasonable price (compared to other more expensive abalone varieties), helps boost South African abalone's popularity among consumers. Any reduction in South African abalone's availability could affect Hong Kong buyers' strong preference for the product-creating a strong incentive for legal producers to support measures that ensure the sustainability of supplies. To reduce the threat of poaching and trafficking, the report offers nine recommendations for governments, legal producers, conservation groups and the donor community to take action. They include listing and enforcing regulations for dried Haliotis midae trade under CITES, working with industry to support the trade in legally sourced South African abalone, and implementing methods for strengthening law enforcement, improving traceability, and raising public awareness about the species and illegal trade. Details: Cambridge, UK: TRAFFIC International, 2018. 114p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 13, 2018 at: http://www.traffic.org/home/2018/2/8/poached-abalone-from-south-africa-is-flowing-into-hong-kong.html Year: 2018 Country: Hong Kong URL: http://www.traffic.org/home/2018/2/8/poached-abalone-from-south-africa-is-flowing-into-hong-kong.html Shelf Number: 149119 Keywords: AbaloneAnimal PoachingEnvironmental CrimeFishing IndustryIllegal FishingIllegal TradeOrganized CrimeTrafficking in WildlifeWildlife CrimeWildlife Trafficking |
Author: Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) Title: Party to the Plunder: Illegal Fishing in Guinea and its links to the EU Summary: - Illegal fishing by foreign trawlers in Guinea's coastal zone is widespread and increasing, despite the attention that has been focussed on illegal fishing by the international community in recent years. - Marine resources and the coastal communities that depend upon them are suffering from unsustainable fishing activities, including massive bycatch and discards, problems that are being significantly compounded by the presence of illegal fishing vessels. - Illegal fishing is aided by the widespread use of flags of convenience that are used to conceal the identity of the true beneficial vessel owners. Various tactics are used to confuse the identity of fishing vessels, including multiple vessel names and frequent changes in name and registry. Penalising wrongdoers can therefore be very difficult, and penalties do not in many cases serve as sufficient deterrent given the lucrative gains to be made from illegal fishing. - Some of the vessels arrested by Guinean authorities have been seen in Las Palmas, Spain, suggesting that illegal fish is being marketed in the European Community. Once the fish has been landed in Las Palmas, it is extremely difficult to track it to its final market destination. There are significant problems in the traceability of fish within the EU to ensure that illegally-caught fish does not enter the marketplace. - Guinea has serious problems in keeping these illegally operating vessels at bay, given their lack of logistical and financial resources. A unique and novel experimental method has been tried in recent years by integrating artisanal fishermen in the surveillance system. Despite its promising beginning, the programme is currently facing difficulties and international support is decreasing. - Regional efforts and cooperation need to be enhanced in order to ensure that enforcement efforts in one area do not result in displacement of illegal activity to more remote areas where surveillance is lacking. - The European Union, as a major market for Guinean fish and an important partner though its bilateral fisheries agreement, has an important role to play. Crucially, the EU must take steps to ensure that it does not facilitate or promote IUU fishing in Guinea, by examining traceability from the sea to the marketplace; ensuring that fishing agreements promote sustainable and legal fisheries; remedying the role of Las Palmas in IUU fishing; and the involvement of EU nationals and associated companies in undertaking IUU fishing in Guinea and elsewhere in the region. Details: London: EJF, 2005. 28p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 9, 2018 at: https://ejfoundation.org/resources/downloads/party-to-the-plunder.pdf Year: 2005 Country: Guinea URL: https://ejfoundation.org/resources/downloads/party-to-the-plunder.pdf Shelf Number: 149416 Keywords: Fishing Industry Illegal Fishing Maritime Crime Offenses Against the Environment Unregulated FishingWildlife Crimes |
Author: Shaver, Amanda Title: Casting a Wider Net: The Security Implications of Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing Summary: The world's fisheries are on the brink of collapse. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UNFAO) estimates nearly 90 percent are fully exploited or overexploited and depleted, while demand for seafood continues to increase. Faced with this reality, fishing fleets are scavenging the globe to meet the growing demand, and in the process often engage in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. These pervasive operations do not just pose a threat to the environment, but also a significant threat to national, regional, and global security. This report details those threats, which are the: 1 Threat to ecological security 2 Threat to economic security 3 Threat to food security 4 Threat to geopolitical stability 5 Threat of maritime piracy 6 Threat of transnational organized crime The perpetrators of IUU fishing are not just the local fisherman catching a bit more than his quota allows, but include a range of offenders: from foreign vessels fishing illegally in another nation's sovereign waters to criminal networks that participate in a variety of illicit activities, including trafficking in drugs, arms, and humans, as well as utilizing shell companies to launder money and slaves to carry out their operations. For these reasons and many others explored within this report, IUU fishing poses a risk to national security and addressing it will require more effort and focus than can be addressed by the conservation community and natural resource management agencies alone. These threats necessitate countries across the world, and particularly the United States, to develop a whole-of-government strategy to combat IUU fishing. This integrated approach involves tapping into the expertise of agencies across government, including those with knowledge spanning from natural resource management, development, trade and finance, to intelligence gathering and law enforcement, as well as the wide community of stakeholders interested in combating IUU fishing. Casting a Wider Net: The Security Implications of Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing, argues that IUU fishing is a threat to national security due to its multivariate impacts on individuals, communities, economies, institutions, and governments. It sets out a series of recommendations that articulate a whole-of-government strategy that the U.S. government and other foreign partners can utilize to curb the impacts of IUU fishing, which are to: - Create a whole-of-government approach - Increase engagement of Combatant Commands (COCOMS) - Expand shiprider agreements between the U.S. and foreign countries - Encourage countries to ratify, implement, and enforce the Port State Measures Agreement - Dedicate resources to increase monitoring and enforcement capacities - Advocate for comprehensive foreign domestic fisheries regulations and catch reporting requirements - Encourage greater transparency of the fishing industry Details: Washington, DC: Stimson Center, 2018. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 10, 2018 at: https://www.stimson.org/sites/default/files/file-attachments/Casting%20a%20Wider%20Net%20Report.pdf Year: 2018 Country: International URL: https://www.stimson.org/sites/default/files/file-attachments/Casting%20a%20Wider%20Net%20Report.pdf Shelf Number: 150135 Keywords: Fishing IndustryIllegal FishingMaritime Crime Offenses Against the Environment Unregulated FishingWildlife Crime |
Author: Anele, Kalu Kingsley Title: The Economic Effect of Piracy in Nigeria: An Overview of the Fishing Industry Summary: The fishing industry plays a crucial role in the economic development of Nigeria. Aside from providing revenue for the government, the fishing sector also provides employment for the teeming population in the coastal states in Nigeria, as well as being a rich source of food for the country. Thus, the challenges posed by piracy to the fishing industry, as well as other economic activities in Nigeria, must be reduced to the barest minimum in other to continue to benefit from this natural resource. With the aid of data, pictograms, conventions, United Nations Security Council resolutions, soft laws and opinions of writers, this paper examines piracy and its effects on the fishing industry in Nigeria. The paper further interrogates the causes, consequences and challenges in combating piracy in Nigeria with a view to proffering countermeasures to this maritime crime. The paper concludes by reiterating the fact that Nigeria must domesticate and implement relevant international instruments on maritime security and other related conventions, and make use of the instrumentality of regional cooperation in combating piracy in other to protect the fishing industry in the country. Details: s.l.: The Author, 2014. 31p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 18, 2019 at: https://www.academia.edu/15605579/The_Economic_Effect_of_Piracy_in_Nigeria_An_Overview_of_the_Fishing_Industry Year: 2014 Country: Nigeria URL: https://www.academia.edu/15605579/The_Economic_Effect_of_Piracy_in_Nigeria_An_Overview_of_the_Fishing_Industry Shelf Number: 155025 Keywords: Fishing IndustryMaritime CrimePiracy/Pirates |
Author: Kroetz, Kailin Title: Examining Seafood Fraud Through the Lens of Production and Trade: How Much Mislabeled Seafood do Consumers Buy? Summary: Key findings -- Due to the globalized nature and complexity of seafood markets, unraveling the causes and consequences of seafood mislabeling will require novel approaches with multiple types of data. Mislabeling rates can be integrated with import and production data to produce estimates of apparent consumption of mislabeled seafood. Estimating apparent consumption of mislabeled products, however, is currently limited by the quality of consumption and mislabeling data, of which the latter is particularly problematic and challenging. More coordinated and targeted research is needed in order to understand to seafood mislabeling and its potential impacts. Details: Washington, DC: Resources for the Future, 2018. 29p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 18, 2019 at: https://www.rff.org/publications/reports/examining-seafood-fraud-through-the-lens-of-production-and-trade-how-much-mislabeled-seafood-do-consumers-buy/ Year: 2018 Country: International URL: https://www.rff.org/publications/reports/examining-seafood-fraud-through-the-lens-of-production-and-trade-how-much-mislabeled-seafood-do-consumers-buy/ Shelf Number: 155455 Keywords: Consumer FraudFishing IndustryIllegal PracticesSeafood Fraud |