Southeast Asian fishing vessels facing declining profits are seeking alternative revenue sources, including through the illegal transportation of wildlife products, according to a new study.
The study, titled “Webs of exploitation and opportunism: Tiger trafficking and crime convergence between Malaysia and Vietnam” was jointly produced by wild cat nonprofit Panthera, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia-based Sunway University, and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL). It details a vast network of fishing vessels involved in human trafficking, child labor, and illegal wildlife trade – specifically of Malayan tiger products, which is a critically endangered species with only 150 individuals left in the wild – along the maritime route between Malaysia and Vietnam.
The findings from the study, which is based on six months of research and includes interviews with 53 individuals possessing knowledge of the illegal activity, suggest that these issues are deeply interconnected, highlighting an opportunity for conservation and human rights organizations to collaborate in dismantling criminal operations for the protection of both species conservation and human rights.
“One crime creates an opportunity for another crime. Our findings highlight how interconnected different kinds of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, smuggling, and human rights violations are,” Lead Author and Panthera Counter-Wildlife Crime Research and Analytics Lead Robert Pickles said. “Smuggling wildlife is one [consequence] that has emerged from IUU fishing, the continuation of which undermines the industry’s reputation and efforts to move toward sustainable harvesting. As the tactics and array of actors have become more established and entrenched, the diversity of illegal activities at sea between Malaysia and Vietnam has grown.”
According to the report, fishing vessels engaging in the practice evade law enforcement by rendezvousing at sea, where they offload illegal wildlife products and resupply without docking in port. The illegal products are often concealed under layers of fish and ice, making detection difficult for maritime authorities.
The study also revealed multiple methods of collaboration between Malaysian and Vietnamese vessels. In some cases, Vietnamese nationals living in Malaysia enable Vietnamese vessels to operate under fake fishing licenses and the Malaysian flag. In other instances, Malaysian vessels link up with Vietnamese vessels to transship products.
“There is an active, well-connected network of agents between Malaysia and Vietnam who specialize in moving products seamlessly between the two countries via different routes. Our findings suggest that through connections with Vietnamese communities at ports along Malaysia’s east coast, captains were either approached with business opportunities or sought out specific products,” Pickles said.
Though the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has seized vessels carrying contraband valued at over USD 150 million (EUR 139 million) since 2019, and Vietnam has also deployed fisheries control boats to patrol its maritime border, the trade persists.
“Fishing vessels smuggling wildlife rely on a blend of deception, bribery, and exploitation of enforcement gaps. While maritime security operations have increased in both Malaysia and Vietnam, we know that this has been countered by methods including massive bribes to patrol boats transferred at sea, to customs officers in Vietnam, and to agencies in Malaysia to redeem impounded vessels by the use of small inconspicuous jetties and transshipment out in the deep sea,” Pickles said. “While offshore vessels are required to keep a vessel-monitoring system running at all times, we were told that captains frequently switched this off to avoid detection of their movements.”
This issue significantly affects legitimate fishermen, particularly small-scale local fishers, while also placing a financial burden on taxpayers nationwide, according to the study, which highlighted that Malaysia has lost an estimated MYR 4.2 billion (USD 950 million, EUR 877 million) due to IUU fishing.
By better understanding the supply chain behind these illicit activities, the study said authorities can implement targeted interventions to prevent debt bondage, close illegal fishing loopholes, and protect endangered species like the Malayan tiger.
“While we do not have specific case studies of the progression of fishing vessels into wildlife smuggling craft, our findings provide insights into how the opportunity structure for wildlife smuggling has developed. Wildlife smuggling appears to have largely piggybacked on operations smuggling Malaysian-caught fish back to Vietnam,” Pickles said.
IUU fishing remains a critical issue for the fishing industry – accounting for nearly 20 percent of the world’s fish catch – and one of the reasons why it has remained such a big issue, according to Pickles, is that declining stocks are tightening profit margins for fishing vessels, driving the owners of these operations toward illegal activities.
“These issues are well known inside the fishing industry, but the ease of conducting IUU operations and laundering catch into markets means rule-breakers enjoy low-risk profit margins denied to legitimate businesses,” Pickles said. “Thus far, pressures to change the situation have been external, but this would benefit from the fishing industry itself taking a leadership role in driving change. The industry needs to become more proactive in working with international and national governance bodies to embrace and embed mechanisms of reporting and compliance to ensure that supply chains are devoid of illegal activity.”
He added that as more organizations spring up to combat human trafficking, illegal fishing, and wildlife crime, coordinated efforts could lead to broader, long-term solutions and prove that a victory in one area can create ripple effects across multiple fronts.
“There isn’t a single framework that covers the full spectrum of illicit activity at sea. Much of this will come down to enhancing bilateral agreements and joint enforcement between Malaysia and Vietnam,” Pickles said.
