The Future Maritime Operating Environment and the Role of Naval Power

impossible, and certainly not a short-term likelihood. The impact of the loss or reduction in
availability of an important food source is already visible. In Sub-Saharan Africa, where food
resources are not always adequate, fish consumption has begun to decline, placing greater stress
on other (often strained) food resources. 65 Some commentators have even contended that there
could be a connection between overfishing and piracy. 66
Magnifying the problem of over-fishing is “illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.” 67
It was described in a report issued by the UN Secretary-General as “the main obstacle in
achieving sustainable management of fishery resources.” 68 It is believed that the principal cause
of IUU is profit, as IUU fishing “can lower administrative and operating costs, avoid paperwork,
ignore quotas and still charge premiums from unknowing buyers (or, indeed, those who do not
care to know).” Regardless of its cause, the scale of the problem is imposing. A study by the
Pew Charitable Trusts estimated that one-fifth of all fish sold in stores or restaurants, worth about
US$23 billion annually, is caught illegally. It observed that, in some regions, the scale of illegal
fish might reach as much as 40 percent of the total catch. 69 Not only does IUU fishing target wild
stocks that are often already severely stressed but there can be socio-economic implications.
Local economies are harmed as income patterns are disrupted with coastal communities and
developing societies most at risk from foreign-based IUU fishing. In 2011, the Republic of Congo
banned dozens of Chinese ships from its waters due to IUU activities; and, in 2013, a
South Korean ship was denied access to a port due to evidence of IUU fishing of local tuna. 70 A
significant challenge in confronting IUU fishing is that many international accords directed at the
problem, such as the FAO’s Port State Measures Agreement (2009), that its advocates believe
will be both cost-effective and efficient, lack implementation strategies, policy and legal
frameworks, and operational mechanisms. 71
65 UNGA, Oceans and the law of the sea; Report of the Secretary-General, p. 9.
66 See, for example, Ishaan Tharoor, “How Somalia’s Fishermen Became Pirates”, Time, 18 April 2009.
The claim of a causal link is, however, disputed. Those who reject a direct linkage argue that, however
desperate the plight of the fishing industry near the Horn of Africa and off the coast of East Africa, the
majority of apprehended pirates have never been fishermen. Moreover, foreign fishing fleets targeted
stocks that the locals seldom exploited. See Ghassan Schbley and William Rosenau, Piracy, Illegal Fishing
and Maritime Insecurity in Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania, Center for Naval Analysis, November 2013 and
Vanda Felbab-Brown, Evolution and Realities of Piracy and Illegal Fishing in African Gulfs (Brookings
Institute: Washington, D.C., 9 December 2013).
67 The phrase illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing is used by the UN, the FAO and the International
Maritime Organisation. See Seokwoo Lee, Anastasia Telesetsky and Clive Schofield, “Slipping the Net:
Why is it so Difficult to Crack Down on IUU Fishing?” in Nordquist et al., Freedom of Navigation and
Globalization, pp. 94–95.
68 Quoted in Lee et al., “Slipping the Net: Why is it so Difficult to Crack Down on IUU Fishing?” in
Nordquist et al., Freedom of Navigation and Globalization, p. 88.
69 Pew Charitable Trusts, “Pew Unveils Pioneering Technology to Help End Illegal Fishing”, Press
Release, 21 January 2015 [accessed on 26 February 2015 at www.pewtrusts.org/en/about/news-room/pressreleases/2015/01/21/pew-unveils-pioneering-technology-to-help-end-illegal-fishing].
70 Lee et al., “Slipping the Net: Why is it so Difficult to Crack Down on IUU Fishing?” in Nordquist et al.,
Freedom of Navigation and Globalization, pp. 91–93.
71 FAO, State of the World Fisheries and Aquaculture and Progress in the implementation of the Code of
Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and Related Instruments, para 49. Interestingly, the Port State Measures
Agreement had not yet become binding international law by late-2015.
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