Last week, NOAA Fisheries issued its 2023 Report to Congress on Improving International Fisheries Management. The report, mandated by the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act, identifies flag states and administrations who have engaged in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and forced labor activities, but with which the United States is willing to work to address these illegal incidents and to support effective management of protected species and shark catch. The 2023 Report to Congress identifies seven IUU fishing perpetrators whose vessels are denied U.S. port privileges: Angola, Grenada, Mexico, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Taiwan, The Gambia, and Vanuatu.
Sally Yozell, Director of the Environmental Security Program at the Stimson Center, released the following statement on the 2023 Report to Congress on Improving International Fisheries Management:
“The Stimson Center applauds NOAA Fisheries on the findings of the 2023 Report to Congress on Improving International Fisheries Management. The report maintains pressure on the U.S. and foreign governments to keep the fight against IUU fishing as a domestic and international policy priority.
The findings of the report demonstrate the successes of the U.S. Maritime Security and Fisheries Enforcement Act and its 21-agency working group. The interagency working group has selected the Gulf of Guinea as a priority region to combat IUU fishing. The distant water fishing fleets of the flag states and administrations identified in this NOAA Fisheries report repeatedly commit IUU fishing offenses and human and labor rights violations in the territorial waters of foreign states and on the high seas. NOAA Fisheries’ efforts to call out these governments and administrations publicly for poor fisheries management and fleet governance, while also offering to work together to combat IUU fishing, is a balanced way to bring entities to the table and correct the illicit activities undermining fisheries management around the globe.
On September 14, the Stimson Center’s Environmental Security Program will host the launch of a new report, “Charting a Blue Future for Cooperation between West Africa and China on Sustainable Fisheries. The report details three years of research and interviews with experts on the impacts of IUU fishing by foreign fleets in the Gulf of Guinea, as well as the challenges that corruption and limited political will pose to efforts to combat IUU fishing in the region. The report features 15 recommendations developed by Chinese and West African civil society groups. These mutually agreed upon recommendations are aimed at the governments of the PRC and West African countries to support their efforts to combat IUU fishing in their waters and fleets and to improve openness and communication between fishing and coastal states.”
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