Efforts in the European Union to stamp out illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in its supply chain are being undermined by European-owned vessels operating under flags of convenience, within tax havens, and in high-risk foreign countries, according to new analysis from marine conservation organization Oceana.
Its recent report, “Flags of convenience and hidden ownership: E.U.-owned fishing vessels in high-risk jurisdictions,” identifies at least 105 large-scale fishing vessels owned by E.U. citizens or companies that are flagged outside the bloc in jurisdictions associated with weak fisheries controls, opaque ownership rules, and/or E.U. warnings over illegal fishing.
More specifically, the report analyzed vessels flagged to 20 high-risk jurisdictions, including countries identified as flags of convenience by the International Transport Workers’ Federation, jurisdictions listed as tax havens, and locations subject to E.U. “yellow card” warnings. Spain, Portugal, and Lithuania account for the highest numbers of E.U. owners operating vessels under these high-risk flags.
Oceana said the findings expose a major enforcement “blind spot” that allows European-owned vessels to sidestep European rules while continuing to supply the market.
According to Oceana, these arrangements can allow economic profits from potentially illegal fishing to flow back to the E.U., despite its stated zero-tolerance policy against this practice. The nonprofit also warned that E.U. citizens are using opaque ownership structures, including shell companies in jurisdictions with lax oversight, to obscure ownership information and distance themselves from fishing activities that may not comply with the bloc’s laws.
Its analysis draws on vessel, trade, and monitoring data, including Lloyd’s List Intelligence, Global Fishing Watch data, E.U. trade databases, and member state implementation reports under the E.U.’s IUU Regulation.
It found that because member nations don’t require their nationals or companies to declare beneficial ownership interests in foreign-flagged fishing vessels, enforcement authorities often lack the ability to determine whether there is E.U. involvement in high-risk fishing operations.
This dearth of transparency, Oceana argues, hampers implementation of E.U. rules prohibiting support for illegal fishing or ownership of vessels flagged to countries subjected to E.U. trade restrictions.
“This lack of registration means authorities often don’t even know which vessels they should be scrutinizing,” Oceana Illegal Fishing and Transparency Campaign Director Vanya Vulperhorst said.
Where controls exist to combat such activities, there is uneven implementation, according to the report.
In the Netherlands, for example, which is a major European seafood import entry point and transshipment hub, Oceana found evidence of landings linked to high-risk flags in 2022 and 2023, despite the country failing to meet E.U. inspection thresholds for direct landings. Spain, by contrast, reported zero such landings in 2024, following increased scrutiny.
“This shows that when controls are applied properly, risks can be reduced,” Vulperhorst told SeafoodSource. “But, it also shows how inconsistent enforcement across member states creates weak links in the system.”
Beyond compliance risks, the report notes uneven competition between E.U. fleets and E.U.-owned vessels operating under foreign flags. When countries receive an E.U. yellow card warning, E.U.-flagged vessels may lose access to fishing opportunities, while E.U.-owned vessels operating under foreign flags can continue fishing and exporting to Europe.
“This creates a completely uneven playing field,” Vulperhorst said. “E.U. operators who follow the rules are effectively penalized, while others can keep fishing under different flags, sometimes in the same waters and targeting the same stocks.”
Examples cited in the report include West African fisheries, where E.U.-owned, foreign-flagged vessels may be operating under unclear social and environmental conditions, competing directly with E.U. fleets bound by stricter standards.
Oceana is calling on E.U. member states to require citizens and companies to report any legal, beneficial, or financial interests in fishing vessels flagged to non-E.U. countries, saying this would strengthen enforcement of existing E.U. law and reduce the risk of illegal fishing products entering the European market.
The organization is also urging the European Commission and member nations to strengthen monitoring and enforcement mechanisms and to prioritize investigations into E.U. ownership links with foreign-flagged vessels. It maintains that such measures would significantly strengthen enforcement of existing rules and reduce the risk of illegal fishing profits flowing back into Europe.
“We are not even asking for this information to be made public,” Vulperhorst said. “We are asking member states to acknowledge they have a role and to make sure authorities know who they are dealing with.”
Oceana’s report comes ahead of the Our Ocean Conference in Mombasa, Kenya, this June and the one-year anniversary of the E.U. Ocean Pact, under which the bloc committed to tackling flags of convenience and improving beneficial ownership transparency.
Oceana, which is conducting further work in this area, insists the political commitments are there, but concrete action is now needed.
“We were encouraged to see flags of convenience and ownership transparency recognized as a problem,” Vulperhorst said. “But, recognition is not enough. What matters now is implementation.”
Further down the supply chain, Oceana is urging importers and buyers to strengthen due diligence, demand vessel-level traceability, and avoid sourcing from high-risk jurisdictions where ownership and compliance cannot be clearly demonstrated.
“Responsible businesses already want to do the right thing,” Vulperhorst said. “The tools exist. What’s needed is the will – both from authorities and from the market – to close this loophole once and for all.”
