Effectively combatting illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing as a transnational organised crime

Abstract

In 2008, former United Nations Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, identified IUU fishing as one of the seven major threats to maritime security. Whilst that 31.5% of the global fish stock is being over-exploited, it has been estimated that illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing accounts for 20% of global catches. In 2008, the United Nations General Assembly also recognised the existence of links between transnational organised crime and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing - today generally referred as 'fisheries crime'. Fishing activities by transnational organised criminal networks ricochet between different jurisdictions, taking advantage of jurisdictional arbitrage, whereby they exploit weak laws and enforcement capacities, making it difficult for State actors to effectively combat them. This dissertation will evaluate the nature of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing as a transnational organised crime and how the international legal framework fares against the challenges posed by the dynamic and transnational nature of the modus operandi of the crime. It will also delve into the limitations of the same international legal framework and the nationality principle under international law. The dissertation will conclude that although the international community has sought to create a strong legal framework to reach sustainability in global fisheries and combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, it is weak when facing transnational organised crime. The present author argues that the effectiveness of the international legal framework depends on its adoption and implementation within domestic legal frameworks. Multilateral cooperation in homogenising legal obligations and compliance degrees across States, shared monitoring, control and surveillance operations, coordinated enforcement and strategic criminal intelligence sharing are also key factors in the fight against this crime. Through the evaluation of actions provided by legal frameworks and State practice, the present author provides two general approaches that can be taken by States for the effective combat of illegal, unrep01ied and unregulated fishing as a transnational organised crime.