5. Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, also known as pirate fishing, remains a perennial problem, in part because the offending fishermen come from foreign countries that are uninterested or incapable of doing anything about it. IUU boats violate protected zone regulations. This puts fish stocks in danger, and also runs the risk of taking food from the mouths of artisanal fishermen in developing countries. Since the rest of the fishing industry abides by these regulations, IUU boats have an unfair competitive advantage, too, one that is measured in billions of U.S. dollars per year.
It’s not new that countries such as the EU are warning other countries that they need to do more to keep their own fisheries in check, but in March the EU issued seafood trade bans for the first time against three countries — Belize, Cambodia and Guinea — after repeated warnings to them. It’s the first sign, albeit a small one, that the EU’s patience is wearing thin on the matter. The largest country the EU wants to see change its policies is Korea, and arguably this show of force against three much smaller countries was more of a message to Korea than the smaller countries, but it put a spotlight on the issue.
The United States government is paying attention to the problem too, setting up a presidential task force in June to study the issue and produce recommendations about how to combat IUU fishing and seafood fraud. As of this writing, the task force has accomplished little other than to outline its objectives, and it remains to be seen whether the task force will call for enforcement of existing rules or simply write more regulations. Still, countries that stand idly by while pirate fishing goes on will not be able to keep ignoring the problem if more countries follow the example set by the EU and the United States.
