End Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing Through Improved Enforcement

Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing is a global phenomenon that preys on vulnerable species, peoples, and communities and leads to significant environmental and socioeconomic harm.  Environmentally, IUU exacerbates overfishing, disrupts marine ecosystems, and damages habitats. Economically, it undermines the livelihoods of legitimate fishers and contributes to increasing poverty and food insecurity by reducing the availability of fish. IUU’s often-exploitative labor practices can also lead to injury and death. These effects threaten the sustainability of global fisheries and marine health and highlight the need for stronger enforcement and international cooperation.

There are established international frameworks for the oversight of fisheries, and many countries have pledged to combat IUU fishing, but action by individual countries will not solve the problem. That’s because many of the world’s fisheries cross country borders.

The Pew Charitable Trusts is working with governments, fisheries management bodies, enforcement authorities, and the seafood industry to encourage greater transparency, collaboration, and information sharing domestically and internationally. Suspicious vessels, illegal operators, and vast unregulated fisheries can be stopped or mitigated if governments work together to ensure better oversight and regulation of fishing fleets; implement existing treaties more effectively; and safeguard and protect not only coastal waters from the harm caused by IUU fishing, but all of the world’s ocean.