The world’s fish stocks are at risk of depletion from intensive fishing activities; they are also at risk from illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Data available from a range of sources, including government, academia and the media, estimates that in 2018, IUU fishing is a US$23.5 billion trade on the international black market. IUU fishing is not just a major threat to the world’s supply of fish. It also causes long-term damage to the ocean environment and has the potential to severely injure or kill the perpetrators.

IUU is a lucrative global industry. Recently investigations have focused on the Galapagos Marine Reserve in the South Pacific Ocean; the region of South-East Asia, in particular Cambodia, the Philippines and Thailand; the Antarctic Southern Ocean; and the in the Pacific North-west. Closer to Australia, open ocean stocks of tuna, marlin, swordfish and trevally in the Timor Sea, are regularly threatened by IUU fishing operations. Also, there is a continuing threat to Australia’s natural pelagic fish resources in the Indian Ocean from illegal fishing off the African coast, principally by Tanzania. Some estimates put the annual global IUU catch at anywhere from 11 to 26 million tonnes.

Depending on the fishing method employed, the harmful environmental effects on fish stocks, coral reefs and marine creatures can be immense. The sea bed is scarred and reefs are shattered and destroyed. Coral reefs, which support rich biological ecosystems, can take hundreds or even thousands of years to recover and re-establish. The destruction kills marine creatures indiscriminately, reducing future catches, affecting food security, and risking the livelihoods of fishing communities. This is particularly so in developing countries, where there is a high dependence on fish for food and export income. Devices sometimes used in blast fishing are dangerous, because they can explode prematurely causing serious injuries and even deaths. There are additional second order effects of IUU, especially from ghost nets, which originate from lost, damaged or discarded fishing equipment.

Illegal fishers make their catch in a variety of ways. Gill nets, which can extend many kilometres in length when fully deployed, are common in some regions. Pirates use small boats and employ cast nets to decimate shoaling fish close to a coastline. Some illegal fishers shock or kill their fish with an electrical charge delivered by a marine generator; they then scoop up the fish floating on the surface. This practice uses either commercially available or home-made explosives made from common ingredients. In Tanzania, explosives come at low cost as they are often pilfered from resource and construction companies. Military ordnance of various types, like hand grenades and other high explosive devices, either stolen or purchased on the black market, are also used.

The fishers operate indiscriminately. They deploy their bombs in any area deemed suitable. When the blast occurs, the fish and all other marine life, are stunned or killed – the fishes’ swim bladders, the organ that controls buoyancy, perforate causing them to float to the surface to be scooped up in a net. Not all stunned or dead fish float; many sink to the bottom and are lost. The blast effect is indiscriminate as it also flattens coral reefs and destroys habitats; the effect is similar to the destruction caused by bombing in war. Though the practice may prove lucrative to the pirates, a single blast may catch as much as 400kg of fish, shoppers in local markets in Tanzania refuse to buy many of those fish because the blast impact quickly causes spoilage. Consequently, many of the fish are simply wasted.

Regulating against blast fishing in developing countries is challenging and, at times, impossible. The combination of low cost, easily manufactured home-made explosives and a lack of other forms of paid employment to provide income, make the trade attractive and sustainable. Underpinning those difficulties is an outdated and inadequate legal framework, with little enforcement and prosecution; corruption, bribery and intimidation of both officials and fishers aggravate those shortfalls.

The problem is deeply complex: in many developing countries, organised crime syndicates operate these fisheries and link with other criminal activities like illegal drugs, prostitution and human trafficking, gun running, and wildlife and timber smuggling. They are often supported by high-profile individuals involved in legitimate business. In some regions in South-east Asia, the syndicates also contract large refrigerated transport ships to support smaller fishing vessels. Consistent with other illegal operations, the fishing vessels transfer their illegally caught fish in international waters and, in turn, are restocked with fuel and supplies, enabling them to remain at sea for extended periods.

The fishing industry is heavily monitored and regulated in European Union countries, where strict compliance regulations and government controls, combined with heavy fines, have reduced IUU fishing from its peak in the mid-1990s. Nevertheless, in developing countries, particularly in Africa and South-east Asia, illegal fishing remains a serious problem, with vast amounts of fish harvested annually. IUU must be addressed as a priority. In part, this will occur by applying effort and providing the necessary support to strengthen existing regulatory frameworks and to implement new and stringent government controls. These efforts should be supported by national governments and international agencies, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Source: Future Directions International