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 organised 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 association between illegal fisheries activities and organised crimes. Here we show that there is minimal evidence of organised crimes being linked to IUU fishing. Due to the covert nature of both organised crime and IUU fishing, we supplemented the literature review with analysis of media reports on illegal fishing from 2015-2019. We reviewed more than 330 individual media reports from 21 countries. From this database, less than 2% reported crimes associated with illegal fishing. The predominant associated crime mentioned were violations of worker’s rights, forced labour 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 offer an explanation to why certain crimes such as forced labour 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 behaviour on the sea, protect those vulnerable to fisheries exploitation, and enhance livelihoods and social well-being.
Highlights
Fisheries are one of the largest and oldest primary industries in the world, providing an estimated 59.6 million people with jobs globally (FAO, 2018)
IUU fishing is a major contributor to global overfishing, threatening food security, maritime livelihoods, and fisheries sustainability (Pauly et al, 2002; Gallic and Cox, 2006; Sumaila et al, 2006)
The consequences and severity of illegal fishing, associated fisheries crimes, and organized crime that occurs on the sea are severe (Tickler et al, 2018; Moreto et al, 2019; Teh et al, 2019)
Summary
Fisheries are one of the largest and oldest primary industries in the world, providing an estimated 59.6 million people with jobs globally (FAO, 2018). Fisheries contribute to the food security of millions of people and are the predominant protein sources in developing countries. The threatened economic and social stability of fisheries is Illegal Fishing and Associated Crimes further weakened by the prevalence of illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing (formal definition see FAO, 2001, Articles 3.1–3.3). IUU fishing is a major contributor to global overfishing, threatening food security, maritime livelihoods, and fisheries sustainability (Pauly et al, 2002; Gallic and Cox, 2006; Sumaila et al, 2006). IUU fishing is widespread, comprising an estimated 20% of global fish catch (Agnew et al, 2009), with annual economic losses estimated between US$26-$50 billion (Sumaila et al, 2020)
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