preview

Illegal, Unreported And Unregulated

Satisfactory Essays

Introduction:

Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing has been labelled by the United Nations as the single biggest threat to marine ecosystems and a major obstacle to achieving sustainable global fisheries. IUU fishing undermines efforts to achieve sustainability of fish stocks as it results in catches of fish (and by-catch) that exceed allowable catch quotas that are imposed on the legal fishing industry. This has negative effects both on the stability of the fisheries and on the livelihoods of those who depend on the fishing industry, IUU fishers have in this sense been labelled as ‘free riders’ who are unfairly benefitting from the sacrifices made by others for the sake of proper fisheries conservation and management. this in turn undermines moral and can lead to a downward spiral of ineffective management and regulation as more and more people turn to illegal methods of fishing in order to compete in the marketplace and emulate their competitors that are flouting the rules.

IUU fishing is an incredibly profitable industry and therefore increasingly attractive for vessels to ignore regulations. This is compounded by stricter regulations and catches quotas being imposed as a response to the dwindling of global fish stocks. It is almost impossible, due to the covert nature of the industry to accurately measure the total worldwide catch and profits of IUU fishers but it has been estimated that around a quarter of the total global fish catch is a result of

Get Access