The Changing Nature of High Seas Fishing: How Flags of Convenience provide cover for illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing



Posted on 02 November 2005  | 
The report The Changing Nature of High Seas Fishing: how Flags of Convenience provide cover for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing is the culmination of over a year of investigation and research funded by the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the International Transport Workers’ Federation and WWF International, on Flags of Convenience and Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing on the high seas. IUU fishing is one of the most serious threats to the health of the world’s fisheries and oceans. This report:
 
 - documents trends in the use of Flags of Convenience (FOCs) which allow for extensive

 - IUU fishing operations on the high seas;
 
 - describes specific examples of IUU activity;
 
 - names FOC countries, companies and vessels with an opportunity to engage in or support IUU fishing;
 
 - identifies major components of the global infrastructure supporting high seas fishing and companies that could be enlisted to address the IUU challenge;
 
 - describes the impact of free-riding FOC fishing States on resource management, human rights and marine conservation;
 
 - recommends solutions or steps to be taken to eliminate IUU fishing and the FOC system.
The Uruguayan-flagged, Viarsa 1, suspected of fishing illegally for Patagonian toothfish in Australian Antarctic waters, was apprehended in August 2003 after a hot pursuit across the Southern Ocean.
© Australian Fisheries Management Authority Enlarge

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