VISIBLE

Vessel identity fraud is a key factor in many cases of illegal fishing and fisheries crime. By sharing identities vessels can and do get away with fishing without licences, catching fish illegally and operating out of sight of the law. Stop Illegal Fishing are working to make fishing vessels VISIBLE and have created a database of information on fishing vessels, focussing on those known to operate in the African region.

Photographs of vessels are particularly important when establishing the identity of a vessel. Contributing your photos of fishing vessels will help to identify those operating under false identities.

For photos to be useful it is important that they include the following information:

  • The vessel name
  • Call sign
  • IMO number (if available)
  • Date taken
  • Location

More information on the use of photos in fisheries control can be found in the Photo Manual for Fisheries Enforcement.

To contribute to the database please complete the following form or email your photos to: visible@stopillegalfishing.org

    Vessel Image (max size 6mb)

    Date of Photograph (required format is YYYY-MM-DD)

    Your Name/Company (not required to submit a vessel)

    Your Email Address (not required to submit a vessel)

    Location of Photograph (required)

    Your comments or notes on activity relating to this submission

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    What impact are we having?

    The Issues

    One in four fish in Africa is caught illegally, this threatens the sustainability of fish stocks, damages the ecosystem and deprives governments of income and people of livelihoods.

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    Our Approach

    Creating change by informing policy and practice, our hands on experience and investigative work means we are often the first to spot new trends and find ways to challenge these.

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    Our Initiatives

    Illegal fishing is a complex issue that requires multifaceted responses. Stop Illegal Fishing are working with a range of organisations to bring about change.

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