The Pacific island nation of Tuvalu has signed a memorandum of understanding with Sea Shepherd Global to have the latter conduct sea patrols as a deterrent to increasing levels of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing occurring Tuvalu’s waters.
Specifically, the Sea Shepherd’s Allankay marine conservation vessel will support Tuvalu’s law enforcement effort in sea patrols, and will have authority to board, inspect, and arrest fishing vessels engaged in criminal activities within Tuvalu’s territorial waters. A detachment from the Tuvalu Police Service will serve on board the Allankay to assist in joint operations.
“The engagement of Sea Shepherd Global to provide support in monitoring and surveillance of Tuvalu’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) could not come at a better time, as Tuvalu’s sole patrol boat, the Te Mataili II, was severely damaged by a cyclone in Vanuatu in March this year and is currently under repair in Australia,” Tuvalu Minister of Justice, Communications, and Foreign Affairs Simon Kofe said in a press release.
Sea Shepherd, a nonprofit organization dedicated to marine conservation and the preservation of biodiversity in oceanic ecosystems, is providing its services at no cost to the government of Tuvalu.
“Sea Shepherd Global is excited to bring a model that we know works to the South Pacific for the first time,” Sea Shepherd Global CEO Alex Cornelissen said. “We know the impact of these patrols. In the places where we work, illegal fishing has been largely eliminated.”
Sea Shepherd Global has worked with other government partners since 2016, including partnerships with Gabon, Tanzania, Liberia, The Gambia, Benin, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, and Namibia, resulting in the arrest of 85 vessels for illegal fishing and other fisheries crimes.
The Pacific Ocean has become a hotspot of IUU activity, with illegal fishing costing Pacific island nations an estimated USD 600 million (EUR 557 million) annually, according to the Pacific Island Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA).
“The problem is aggravated since most Pacific Island states lack enforcement capacity and resources, making them prime targets for the IUU fishing trade,” the government of Tuvalu said in a press release. “With more than 50 percent of Tuvalu’s economy dependent on fisheries, IUU fishing is tantamount to an economic disaster. Despite threatening marine ecosystems and biodiversity of the Pacific, IUU fishing also undermines the livelihoods of local communities that depend on the Ocean for food and income.”
The 54.6-meter-long Allankay was recently purchased by Sea Shepherd Global after serving as a Patagonian toothfish longliner. It was relaunched in February 2023 after being transformed into a marine patrol vessel. Tuvalu Envoy for the Oceans and Climate Change Shivshankar Nair was credited by Kofe for his role in initiating the collaboration with Sea Shepherd Global.
Photo courtesy of Sea Shepherd
