Library

This article examines four major maritime law enforcement response areas: Drug trafficking, piracy, migration, and illegal fishing. It examines specific questions related to fisheries law enforcement including the detention of IUU fishers, use of force and under what circumstances may a vessel be destroyed. It finds that courts are increasingly addressing issues once considered within the sole discretion of government officials and operational commanders with the result being an ad hoc collection of judicial opinions, treaties, and multilateral agreements that lack coherence and consistency.

Agreed on by leading NGOs engaged in global tuna sustainability, the best practices outlined ensure that at-sea transshipment is well-managed and transparent. The best practices come in three facets: management best practices, data reporting best practices, and monitoring best practices. The policies include 100 percent observer coverage either human or electronic for all at-sea transshipment events, require information on all at-sea transshipment events to be shared with the relevant RFMO, prohibit vessels from acting as both a fishing vessel and carrier vessel on the same trip and a multitude of other policies that fisheries can work towards implementing.

The inadequate regulatory control and monitoring of transshipment, especially at sea, create gaps that enable illicit activity. Recognizing this inadequacy and its consequences, the Pew Charitable Trusts calls for a ban on transshipment until best practices are implemented. They outline multiple best practices across three categories, reporting, monitoring, and data-sharing. By implementing these practices, all parties can be assured that adequate guidelines are in place to make transshipment a more effective and safe practice, not contributing to IUU fishing.

The UN adopted the Port State Measures Agreement (PMSA) in 2009 to stop the use of ports by IUU fishing and support vessels. However cost-effective they are, in many countries, particularly developing countries, a comprehensive set of tools is needed to support the practical implementation of the Agreement. To achieve this, the Pew Environmental Group developed the PMSA Toolkit, a resource that aims to help developing countries identify their capacity needs, provide them with key information, and guide them through the most technical and detailed elements of the Agreement.

The 1995 FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (the Code) provides a set of international standards for responsible behaviour in the fisheries sector with to ensure the effective conservation, management and development of living aquatic resources, with due respect for the ecosystem and biodiversity. The Code is non-binding document and provides the framework for the development of other voluntary instruments including guidelines and international plans of action.