Ocean Security and Sustainable Fisheries

Research to action to combat IUU fishing, protect our ocean, support maritime security

Protecting ocean assets and promoting transparency across the global fishing industry to safeguard the economic, health and food security of the billions of people who depend on our oceans.

The ocean, an engine for food, economic and environmental security is under assault from overuse—collapsing fish stocks, pollution, and the devastating effects of climate change. At the same time, fishing is big business, with over 56 million people working on vessels to support it worldwide. Despite this, the seafood supply chain is opaque, impeding effective fisheries management and risking the livelihoods and food security of millions.

Illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU), an illicit business which generates estimated annual profits of $36.billion, poses unique challenges to states and communities, undermining their ability to manage fish stocks while also being associated with transnational organized crime, labor concerns and trafficking. These issues pose a direct threat to U.S. national and global security. This project provides decision makers with resources and information needed to quantify and understand the convergence of these critical issues and its links to other security threats.

Our work seeks to combat IUU fishing by operationalizing civil-military response to IUU fishing, supporting diplomacy between governments, and increasing cooperation between the security and conservation communities, with the goal of protecting valuable marine resources.

Through engagement with stakeholders around the globe, Stimson also serves as an advisor to the annual Our Ocean Conference, a global conference that focuses on commitments and actions to protect the ocean, while ensuring the ocean remains a foreign policy imperative entering the ocean decade.

Commentary
Reflections on missed opportunities and a call to action to safeguard the environment and economic security of America's coastal communities
Sally Yozell

Latest

Commentary
As more countries around the globe move to ban Russian seafood and implement seafood traceability systems, they are looking to the US as a global leader
Sally Yozell
Report
Examining the existing U.S. programming that supports seafood trade monitoring and offering recommendations to improve combatting illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing
Lily Schlieman • Sally Yozell • Noah Fritzhand
Op-Ed
Identifying trends and actors involved in IUU fishing, exploring political and socioeconomic factors, and offering recommendations to government
Lily Schlieman
Testimony
Program Director Sally Yozell called to testify before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China
Sally Yozell
Report
This report offers the governments of West African states and the People’s Republic of China clear, concise, and actionable recommendations to foster sustainable fisheries management and counter IUU fishing in the Gulf of Guinea and beyond
Sam Geall • Carolyn Gruber • Regina Lam...

News & Commentary

Commentary
As more countries around the globe move to ban Russian seafood and implement seafood traceability systems, they are looking to the US as a global leader
Sally Yozell
Op-Ed
Identifying trends and actors involved in IUU fishing, exploring political and socioeconomic factors, and offering recommendations to government
Lily Schlieman
Testimony
Program Director Sally Yozell called to testify before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China
Sally Yozell
Remarks
"More serious measures must be adopted to strengthen implementation, expand the species list, increase risk targeting and global harmonization, and address forced labor"
Sally Yozell
Remarks
NMFS should harmonize information requirements with the SIMP dataset, digitize entry filing, and require affirmation of compliance with labor laws
Sally Yozell

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