Abstract
Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing is recognised as a major threat to the health of the world’s oceans. In addition, the discourse around IUU is recognizing and recommending that IUU be viewed through the lens of transnational crime. Reducing IUU fishing therefore requires a detailed understanding of how fishing fleets function and interact transnationally. However, this is difficult to determine because IUU fishing is by nature a clandestine activity, and often occurs in contexts that, by intention, make monitoring very difficult. Disentangling fleet activities therefore necessitates identifying and understanding how key players or actors function to support or guide IUU activities. In this regard, recent efforts have focused on identifying transhipment activities by finding and following refrigerated cargo (reefer) vessels. We suggest that bunker (fuel) vessels, may provide one solution to understanding and unravelling these IUU networks for two main reasons: they are fewer in number, are known to provide additional support to fishing vessels beyond refuelling. In this respect, bunker vessels are also used to resupply provisions, and crew, thereby facilitating human trafficking and slavery, which is demonstrably rife in certain components of the commercial fishing realm (e.g., long distance or high seas fleets). Here, we illustrate how social network analysis could be used as a methodological lens to expose previously clandestine IUU fishing fleet dynamics. Specifically, we highlight the connectedness of a tanker vessel, and several fishing and reefer vessels, in an area in the Southern Indian Ocean that has high levels of fishing and general shipping.
Highlights
In the example we provided, a bunker vessel and several fishing vessels were frequently ranked at the top, regardless of which measure of centrality was used
We propose that bunker vessels, which classify as support vessels and fall within the definition of IUU, are an important conduit within the IUU network
Previous research has highlighted the role that insurance companies could play in combatting IUU fishing (i.e., withholding insurance for vessels known to engage in IUU, see Miller et al, 2016 and Soyer et al, 2017), an approach that may be conducive to curtailing the role of supply vessels deemed to support IUU fishing activities
Summary
Seafood is one of the most traded food commodities and the primary source of animal protein for more than 40% of the world’s population (FAO, 2016; Kittinger et al, 2017). In the context of illegal fishing, these shortfalls include the challenge of monitoring vessels at sea (Dunn et al, 2018), and wider issues involving the lack of transparency in vessel ownership (Griggs and Lugten, 2007), continuation of access to insurance (Miller et al, 2016), scarce information on the history and past infractions of operators, limited information sharing among enforcement agencies, and challenges due to the sheer number and complexity of operations (Le Gallic and Cox, 2006; Lindley and Techera, 2017) Some of these issues may be addressed through investigating the apparent coordination among vessels, as observed in their movements and interactions. Associations among vessels can be used to elucidate social networks such as shared ownership or cooperation, aggregate infraction information and vessel histories to identify groups of vessels at high risk of IUU activity, and infer risk for vessels where historical information is unavailable
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