Understanding Fishing and Conservation Challenges

NATIONAL PRESS FOUNDATION

Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing

Natural Resources Defense Council, Oceans

Sandy Aylesworth
 Today’s Presentation

1. Introduction

2. What is IUU?

3. Why does
solving IUU
matter?

4. Drivers of IUU

5. Role of U.S.
markets in
driving IUU ©2019 images by F. Blaha. 2
 THE OCEAN & PEOPLE
“With every drop of water you drink,
Every breath you take,
You are connected to the sea.
No water, no life.
No blue, no green.”

-Sylvia Earle

Image: david-doubilet-385833862615741
Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing
(IUU or illegal fishing)

Illegal: Fishing that occurs in contravention of

fisheries management and conservation
measures

Unreported: Fishing that has not been reported

or has been misrepresented to authorities

Unregulated: Fishing that occurs outside a

fisheries management regime (i.e. the High
Seas)
4
Abundant and Consistent Seafood
Essential for Food Security
• One in five people
rely on fish as their
primary source of
protein

• In some countries,
fish comprises 50
percent of total
animal protein per
person.

5
The Global Importance of Fishing

• Small scale
fishers are 90
percent of
capture
fishers

• In the U.S.
1.7 M jobs

Source Ocean Health Index

 90% of large predatory
OVERFISHING fish are gone
Image: NGeo-1186344
 IUU Fishing Overview
• A top threat to sustainable fisheries management

• Driver of global overfishing

Ex. From 2000-2010 for every legal crab caught in Russia, 2.6
crabs caught illegally, U.S. crab import exceeded the Russian
catch quota

• Linked to broader marine ecosystem threats

Bycatch, habitat impacts

• Linked to human rights violations

• Threatens food security and regional stability

 Scale of IUU
• 20 – 50 percent of
the global catch

• $15.5 to $36.4 billion

annually

• Costs U.S. fishermen

$1 billion annually
Brian Raymond

• 20 – 32 percent of wild-caught imports to

the United States are IUU
 Global Drivers of IUU

Economic advantages of non-compliance

Global demand (Japan, US, China, EU)

Regulatory gaps (e.g. flags of convenience,

at-sea transshipment)

Low enforcement levels at sea and at ports

Lack of full traceability along the seafood

supply chain
10
The Challenges of Enforcement

11
Long and Invisible Supply Chains

12
President Obama’s IUU Task Force
• Created in 2014
• 12 agencies
• 15 recommendations

(1) PSMA
(2) advancing best practices for RFMOs
(6) international capacity building
(7) making IUU a diplomatic priority
(8) interagency information sharing
(11) state and local enforcement
(14&15) development of a risk-based
seafood traceability program.
 The United States’ Market Power

$14.1B = 2006: U.S. seafood

imports
$20.5B = 2016: U.S. seafood
imports 14
Seafood Import Monitoring Program

“You cannot have sustainability without

traceability”

• Risk-based tool, not a panacea

• Establishes data, reporting, and

recordkeeping requirements for
seafood

• Importer of record required to have

key information at time of entry

Photo credit: NOAA Fisheries

 Robust Implementation of the
SIMP is Needed

• Catch area
• Optional vs. Mandatory
• Authorization to fish
• Unique vessel identifier
• Verification of data
• Program currently covers
just 40 percent of species

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 Enforcement Capacity
Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach

“You have to marry policy and operations”

 IMAGE: KENIKIN.COM

Conclusions
Thank you