HomeDipNote: All Posts...Combating Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing Through U.S. and Global Action   

# 									Combating Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing Through U.S. and Global Action   							

DipNote

Mahlet N. Mesfin, Deputy Assistant SecretaryBureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs

June 4, 2024

On June 5, the United Nations marks the International Day for the Fight against Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing, highlighting a pervasive problem that demands the world’s attention. 

When we talk about IUU fishing, we’re talking about fishing that violates rules — or takes place in the absence of rules — and undermines the international governance of fisheries. IUU fishing generatestens of billions of dollars in illegal profits each year, with untold billions of dollars lost to the global economy in unpaid taxes, customs, license fees, and other pieces of the legal seafood supply chain. 

IUU fishing threatens the biodiversity of our ocean and the health of ocean ecosystems, which are already facing increasing threats from climate change, acidification, and human pollution.   

IUU fishing also negatively impacts the livelihoods of coastal communities that rely on sustainable fish stocks for income and food. It puts law-abiding fishers at a disadvantage when they must compete in the market against products produced outside the agreed-upon international fisheries rules.  

Finally, IUU fishing can be tied to criminal activities like forced labor, drug and arms trafficking, and money laundering, making this an issue that is not just linked to the ocean but broader security and societal issues on land.   

**Working Toward a Solution**

Solving the problem of IUU fishing requires strategic, concerted, and collective global action. Achieving success necessitates working collectively with governments, international organizations (including regional fisheries management organizations), nongovernmental organizations, civil society, and local communities.  

It also requires active engagement from those who feel the effects of IUU fishing in their daily lives: the private sector — including law-abiding fishers — vessel owners and operators, and seafood processors. 

The United States is doing this work through global, regional, and bilateral efforts by helping sustainable fisheries that support food security, protecting ocean ecosystems, and strengthening local communities.

We are countering IUU fishing and related threats to maritime security around the world by promoting responsibility and accountability, information sharing, and building and strengthening law enforcement partnerships.    

Under the Maritime Security and Fisheries Enforcement (SAFE) Act, the United States is deploying a whole-of-government approach to address these issues by bringing together all the parts of the U.S. government that have a role in managing fisheries, overseeing trade, patrolling the water, and working with our foreign partners. 

And on the international stage, we are leading efforts within regional fisheries management organizations, promoting the Port State Measures agreement, advancing negotiations at the World Trade Organization to eliminate harmful fisheries subsidies, and steering other multilateral efforts that seek to strengthen the international governance structures needed to address the multifaceted needs of tackling issues around IUU fishing. 

 A fishing vessel inspected during a patrol to stop IUU fishing in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, August 2022. [Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Justin Upshaw/USCG/AP]**The Power of Partnerships**

Building on President Biden’s 2022 **National Security Memorandum**on Combating Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing and Associated Labor Abuses,the United States released a**National Five-Year Strategy for Combating IUU Fishing**. It outlines the U.S. government’s specific strategies and monitoring benchmarks for building partnerships and programs to address IUU fishing and improving maritime security in states and regions at a high risk for IUU fishing.  

The strategy outlines three key goals:
        - To promote sustainable fisheries management globally;
        - To enhance the monitoring, control and surveillance of marine fishing operations; and  
        - To ensure that only legal, sustainable, and responsibly-harvested seafood enters trade.  

This work is grounded in collaboration with partner countries in priority regions around the world to build regional and international cooperation and commitment in support of sustainable and responsible seafood.   

For example, the United States and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime are partnering with Senegal to support judicial and prosecutorial capacity-building to target bad actors. The United States is also supporting a vessel boarding training program in Senegal in partnership with Interpol to enhance IUU fishing monitoring efforts. 

In the Philippines, the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) is working with the government, academia, and fishing communities to stop industrial vessels that are illegally harvesting fish and increase compliance among local fishers. USAID collaborated with the Government of the Philippines to expand the use of an IUU fishing threat assessment and index tool, resulting in a national IUU fishing assessment report covering 160 local government units. The tool has increased awareness about IUU fishing and partners now use these IUU fishing assessments to encourage voluntary compliance, guide law enforcement strategically, and communicate progress on reducing IUU fishing. 

But this isn’t just a government effort. We recognize the essential role of public-private partnerships to support these goals, including using groundbreaking technologies and tools that non-governmental organizations and the seafood industry have developed to pinpoint bad actors and support sustainable supply chains.   

As one example, Por la Pesca is a public-private partnership in Peru and Ecuador backed by USAID and the Walton Family Foundation and implemented by the Peruvian Society of Environmental Law (SPDA). The partnership helps organize and formalize the artisanal fisheries sector, improving economic opportunities and best fishing practices in coastal communities. Since its inception in 2022, Por la Pesca has already shown tremendous success, registering 750 vessels in Peru, training more than 2,700 fishers, and helping pass six legal reforms that improve fisheries regulation.

These programs are just a few examples of how the United States is helping lead efforts globally to combat IUU fishing and applying a holistic approach to tackling this critical and multi-dimensional issue. We will continue to take robust actions to help support thriving fishing industries and ensure food security for billions of people around the world who rely on fish for food and livelihoods. 

Tags

Biodiversity and EcosystemClimate and EnvironmentClimate ChangeFisheriesFood SecurityOceansPeruPhilippinesSeasSenegalSustainabilityU.S. Agency for International DevelopmentUnited States

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