The Intersection Between Illegal Fishing, Crimes at Sea, and Social Well-Being

Abstract

Illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing is a major contributor to global overfishing, threatening food security, maritime livelihoods, and fisheries sustainability. An emerging narrative in the literature posits that IUU fishing is associated with additional organized criminal activities, such as drug trafficking, human trafficking, slavery, and arms smuggling. We explored this narrative through a systematic literature review to identify the empirical evidence of the association between illegal fisheries activities and organized crimes. Here we show that there is minimal evidence of organized crimes being linked to IUU fishing. Due to the covert nature of both organized crime and IUU fishing, we supplemented the literature review with analysis of media reports on illegal fishing from 2015 to 2019. We reviewed more than 330 individual media reports from 21 countries. From this database, < 2% reported crimes associated with illegal fishing. The predominantly associated crime mentioned were violations of worker's rights, forced labor and/or modern slavery. We resolve the contradiction between the common narrative that fisheries and other crimes are linked by presenting three distinct business models for maritime criminal activities. These models explain why certain crimes such as forced labor are associated with illegal fishing, while other crimes such as trafficking or smuggling are less likely to be linked to fishing activities. By disentangling these crimes from one another we can better focus on solutions to reduce illegal behavior on the sea, protect those vulnerable to fisheries exploitation, and enhance livelihoods and social well-being.

Fish crimes in the global oceans

“…Human rights abuses are linked to some IUU activities through the drive to maximize profit and minimize costs. Several studies have linked illegal fishing to labor abuses including slavery ( 40 , 41 , 46 ). The hypothesis is that illegal fishing occurs to maximize benefits, and slavery or slave labor is often driven by the incentive of lowering costs in countries where the monitoring of these activities is often limited.…”

Promoting Cooperation of Monitoring, Control, and Surveillance of IUU Fishing in the Asia-Pacific

“…As was done by Mackay et al [29], we conducted a literature and media review. First, we extracted information from documents issued by the national governments, regional intergovernmental organizations, and United Nations organizations.…”

A Perspective on the Role of Eco-Certification in Eliminating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing

“…A growing body of work points to a connection between illegal fishing and labor practices (Tickler et al, 2018;EJF, 2019;Mackay et al, 2020). As stocks become depleted and the costs of fishing increases, illicit operators attempt to improve margins through exploitative labor practices which then lead to worsened stock health and further labor abuses in a vicious cycle to maintain margins.…”

“…Commercial fisheries have consistently been identified as a main driver of declines in marine biodiversity (IPBES, 2019), with illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing being a persistent factor in unsustainable fisheries (Cabral et al, 2018). IUU fishing is also associated with organized crime, including slave and child labor, widespread fraud and corruption (Mackay et al, 2020).…”