The Quest to Combat the Illegal Fishing of ‘White Gold’ in the Southern Ocean

Abstract

The Patagonian toothfish in the waters surrounding the Kerguelen, Crozet, Heard and MacDonald Islands are under serious threat by the continued exploitation of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing vessels. Some IUU fishing activities involve highly elaborate transnational crime operations that use front companies, fraudulent documentation, and corrupt port officials to smuggle illegal toothfish into ports around the world. The vessels often use active intelligence methods to obtain information about a State’s enforcement efforts and exploit weaknesses in national and international fisheries law. To protect this rapidly declining resource, countries such as France and Australia that have Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) surrounding sub-Antarctic islands, have tightened controls over their domestic fisheries laws whilst simultaneously strengthened their operational enforcement capabilities. Both governments employ armed patrol vessels to provide surveillance and apprehend vessels operating illegally. In 2003 and 2007 Australia and France adopted a coordinated approach to surveillance and law enforcement operations by signing bilateral treaties. These agreements enable the exchange of information concerning the movements and related details of fishing vessels, cooperative surveillance activities and the establishment of a shared register of fishing vessels licensed to operate in French and Australian waters. Despite these measures, IUU fishing remains far from being eradicated. Both the domestic and bilateral treaty enforcement regime have been unable to fully address the transnational criminal nature of the problem. A multi-pronged approach needs to be adopted to control the international trade in toothfish and make the activity less attractive to those involved.