Illegal fishing refers to activities: Conducted by national or foreign vessels in waters under the jurisdiction of a State, without the permission of that State, or in contravention of its laws and regulations;
Conducted by vessels flying the flag of States that are parties to a relevant regional fisheries management organization but operate in contravention of the conservation and management measures adopted by that organization and by which the States are bound, or relevant provisions of the applicable international law; or
In violation of national laws or international obligations, including those undertaken by cooperating States to a relevant regional fisheries management organization.
Unreported fishing refers to fishing activities:Which have not been reported, or have been misreported, to the relevant national authority, in contravention of national laws and regulations; or
Undertaken in the area of competence of a relevant regional fisheries management organization which have not been reported or have been misreported, in contravention of the reporting procedures of that organization.
Unregulated fishing refers to fishing activities: In the area of application of a relevant regional fisheries management organization that are conducted by vessels without nationality, or by those flying the flag of a State not party to that organization, or by a fishing entity, in a manner that is not consistent with or contravenes the conservation and management measures of that organization; or
In areas or for fish stocks in relation to which there are no applicable conservation or management measures and where such fishing activities are conducted in a manner inconsistent with State responsibilities for the conservation of living marine resources under international law.”
Without a doubt, all three types of fishing undermine efforts to conserve and sustainably manage fisheries. But, when you consider the responsible party in each of these three cases, one quickly falls out as different. “Which one of these is not like the others?” With illegal fishing, the fishers are in direct violation of the law by fishing when, where, or for certain species they shouldn’t be fishing. Unreported fishing is the failure to report harvest in accordance with the law – the fishing itself is not illegal, but the fishers are still not in compliance with the law because of their failure to report their harvest. Then, there’s unregulated fishing. In this case, governments do not have regulations in place to manage the fishery. Yes; some fishers do take advantage of this and operate under “flags of convenience.” But, in other cases, fishers are just operating in a situation where a government is not capable of managing their activities. Illegal and unreported fishing are enforcement issues. Unregulated fishing is a governance issue. Follow the conversation with the hashtags: #IUUFishing, #5June, #FightIUUFishing, #PSMA, #ecosystems.
EVENTS: On Friday, June 5th, International Day for the Fight Against IUU Fishing 2026, there is much to celebrate. Ten years ago, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA) entered into force.The PSMA is the only legally binding international treaty specifically designed to address IUU fishing, which it does by strengthening port controls and limiting the ability of illicit operators to offload their catch to the market. Register to participate!
INTERVIEWS: The Pew Charitable Trusts spoke with four experts – Marisa Kashorte, director, international fisheries relations, Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment South Africa; Alicia Mosteiro, technical secretary to PSMA Technical Working Group on Information Exchange, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; Meli Raicebe, fisheries officer, Fiji Fisheries Department, and chair, Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission Port State Measures Working Group; and Elsa Tudal, project director, Europe and international, directorate general for maritime affairs, fisheries and aquaculture of France and chair of the sixth PSMA meeting of the Parties in 2027 – about the impact of the PSMA’s first decade in force, the future of the agreement and what else the global community can do to combat IUU fishing. Listen to the interview!
PUBLICATION: Stopping illegal,unreported and unregulated fishing; Published by the FAO.
In 2001, after more
than two years of great effort, the Members of FAO
developed an International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate IUU Fishing (IPOA-IUU) to address this
problem.
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Like the Code of Conduct, the IPOA-IUU is voluntary.
It is conceived of as a “toolbox” – that is, a set of tools for usein dealing with IUU fishing in its many forms. Not all tools in
the toolbox are appropriate for use in all situations. The
choice of tools will depend on the particular circumstances in
a fishery.
This booklet is intended to help familiarize FAO Members and others with the
tools;
to suggest which tools to use in particular
circumstances; and
to provide guidance on how to use the tools
effectively.
For those people who would like to know more about
the IPOA-IUU and to obtain a copy of the text, visit the FAO Fisheries Department Website on the Internet. The FAO
Fisheries Department has also produced detailed Technical Guidelines to help governments and others implement the IPOA-IUU.
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