The new Coalition for Fisheries Transparency has published a framework to create a common language advocates can use to enhance sustainability and transparency efforts across global seafood supply chains.
The framework, called the Global Charter for Fisheries Transparency, includes ten principles for the coalition to use when promoting seafood traceability and transparency. Members and leaders of the coalition include several nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) such as the Global Fishing Watch, Citizens Institute for Environmental Studies (Korea), WWF, Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), Oceana, Regional Partnership for Coastal and Marine Conservation (West Africa), and Seafood Legacy (Japan).
Through the framework set by the coalition and charter, members can unite and maximize the collective impact of current transparency advocacy, according to Coalition for Fisheries Transparency Director Maisie Pigeon. That advocacy can in turn help reduce instances of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. IUU fishing contributes to a loss of USD 23.5 billion (EUR 21.5 billion) annually, and represents one-fifth of global fisheries catch.
“The way that the Coalition for Fisheries Transparency operates is that priorities in each country are set by the members who work there, as they are best placed to understand the realities where they operate and identify opportunities to push forward fisheries transparency policies, as well as the obstacles they may encounter along the way,” Pigeon said.
The coalition supports NGOs and civil societies globally to advocate for government adoption of stronger fisheries policies through ten transparency principles in the charter, coordinating those efforts. According to Pigeon, achievements in fisheries transparency have often been isolated, but the charter provides a platform for NGOs to coordinate and leverage these existing efforts to accelerate fisheries transparency, Pigeon said.
“The coalition works with members to support them to achieve their priority transparency reforms, and then to replicate those successes elsewhere in their regions and globally,” Pigeon said. “It will be down to advocacy groups in the coalition to articulate in the countries where they work how transparency leads to improved fisheries governance and better outcomes. The coalition was formed to help them succeed.”
The charter principles address a lack of transparency in vessel information, fishing activity, and fisheries governance and management to combat illegal fishing and prevent human rights abuses at sea. Principles adopted by states into law and practice are meant to counter fisheries mismanagement, and can be used for all fishing industries – though some require further adaptation to be effective in small-scale fisheries, according to the coalition.
“Lots of NGOs around the world were pushing fisheries transparency policy reforms globally and achieving results, but these successes were often isolated and not being replicated,” Pigeon said.
Three categories of vessel information, fishing activity, and governance and management make up the charter principles. Vessel information covers four of ten principles, calling for assignment of unique, lifetime vessel identification numbers for all fishing vessels, refrigerated transport vessels, and supply vessels, and a list to be provided to the FAO Global Record and RFMOs. This allows authorities to know the vessels’ history and track illegal behavior.
Principle two calls for an up-to-date, published list of fishing vessel licenses, authorizations, subsidies, and official access agreements and sanctions to enable authorities to monitor illegal gear and entrance to unauthorized areas.
Principle three is to publicize the beneficial ownership of vessels to sanction owners ultimately profiting from illegal activity to effectively combat it. Principle four partially builds on that by calling for enforcement the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Article 91 to end the use of flags of convenience by fishing vessels. Historically vessels have been able register to a country with minimal monitoring of flagged vessels, allowing them to continue perpetrating IUU and avoid sanctions.
“In addition, without knowing beneficial owners, it is impossible to identify patterns across fleets owned by the same entities or for a state considering whether or not to register or license a vessel to understand the history of compliance of the entity that owns it,” Pigeon said.
Fishing activity includes publishing vessel positions data, banning or closely monitoring at-sea transshipment, and mandating seafood traceability from boat to plate. Principles five through seven require monitoring suspicious vessel activity, protecting workers from human rights abuses, and ensuring illegal seafood is not entering the supply chain of legal products.
Principles eight through 10 focus on governance and management, and advocate for ratification of international agreements that set standards for fishing vessels and trade (FAO Agreement on Port State Measures, ILO C188, ILO Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, and the IMO Cape Town agreements), public and equitable access to fisheries data and participation in fisheries management and decision-making, and data collection and publication on conditions of fishing vessel crews.
The charter was built with public consultation from September to November 2022, and received input from stakeholders including industry, civil society groups, academics, small-scale fishery actors, and other interested parties.
“With the Global Charter officially released, the Coalition for Fisheries Transparency will turn its full attention to supporting members on their national and regional campaigns for greater transparency in fisheries," Pigeon said. "We will continue to build our membership and connect these groups doing vital work across the world.”
Photo courtesy of Maise Pigeon/LinkedIn
