Combating IUU Fishing

SFP works to improve fisheries policy and governance in key countries and at the regional level, to achieve stronger environmental protections and enforcement, more sustainably managed stocks, and greater benefits for fishing communities. A top priority of our work is addressing the persistent challenges of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

On-the-water impact

Technologies are widely available for fishers to better demonstrate compliance with government regulations and seafood buyer requirements. Tools such as electronic monitoring (EM) generate valuable data and metrics on catch and bycatch, vessel behavior, and crew wellness. Vessel-level data providers such as Global Fishing Watch and the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation help determine which vessels are risky and which are acting responsibly. SFP is pushing for wider adoption and requirement of technologies like EM and is bringing stakeholders together to ensure maximum benefits of the data are realized by fishers, regulators, and seafood supply chains.

Transparency and traceability

Seafood buyers that are unsure where their seafood is coming from are at high risk. At a minimum, buyers need to know and have assurances for the source fishery of their products. The FAO-backed Universal Fishery IDs in the Global Record of Stocks and Fisheries provide a global standard for the entire seafood industry for identifying unique source fisheries. With better visibility of and traceability to source fisheries, seafood companies have a more accurate picture of risk and where issues like IUU fishing persist and need to be addressed.

Tackling illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing

SFP aligns seafood supply chain players, from international buyers to domestic processors to fisher organizations, to press for policies that address IUU fishing, and educate governments on the merits of the proposed reforms. Where fisheries are unregulated or poorly managed, SFP also pushes for the seafood industry to put in place voluntary measures to reduce overfishing and harmful practice.

SFP’s Global Squid Supply Chain Roundtable has done extensive work on addressing the risks of IUU fishing and human rights abuses in squid fisheries, both in their specific supply chains and globally. Our IUU Squid Fishing Resource Library collects a broad range of research and evidence on IUU fishing worldwide.