EJF shows true activism with anti-IUU fishing guide

Last week, the nonprofit environmental activist group Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) released a guide for the fishing industry that offered refreshingly practical advice for dealing with a perennial problem, as opposed to the preachy rhetoric the industry has come to expect from certain NGOs.

The guide, produced in concert with the U.K. office of the World Wildlife Fund and the British Retail Consortium, offers advice for dealing with illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The first sign of the EJF’s level-headed approach is its downplaying of the advice. The guide’s title, “An advisory note for the UK supply chain on how to avoid illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishery products,” reads like a pamphlet for local fishermen on regional bylaws.

The title doesn’t do the guide justice. It is definitely EU-centric, geared toward a U.K. audience, focusing on some rules set by the EU with regard to reporting catches, country-of-origin labeling and other regulations, and doubtless the rules are different in North America, Asia and other regions of the world.

But buyers of wild seafood throughout the industry would do well to read the guide anyway, even those outside of the U.K., and even the EU. IUU fishing is a worldwide problem, and one of those rare issues that unites environmentalists and the industry. It threatens fragile stocks in waters that are supposed to be protected, not to mention providing an unfair advantage that robs law-abiding fishermen of billions of U.S. dollars a year.

The advice in the guide is clear, simple and applicable way beyond the U.K. It is broken down into a series of charts that almost literally say to buyers who deal with fishermen, here’s what you need to worry about; here’s who you need to talk to; here’s what you need to ask; here’s what you should expect to hear in response and if you don’t, there’s a problem with those fishermen and you should sever ties with them immediately.

This is arguably a better approach to dealing with IUU fishing than simply screaming for more regulations, like some activist groups are known to do. The so-called “pirate fishermen” have to sell what they catch somewhere, but if buyers follow the advice in this guide, it will hit said fishermen in their wallets.

While it’s naïve to think that a single 36-page document specific to one country will create an overnight change that will choke off profits for IUU fishermen worldwide forever, the guide remains an immensely constructive approach.

Any wild seafood buyer concerned about indirectly supporting IUU fishing really needs to read this guide, and the EJF deserves praise for producing it. This is one group that consistently shows itself to be led by true activists offering valuable advice, rather than obnoxious protestors fanning the flames of conflict by waging class warfare and other political agendas masquerading as true environmentalism.