A campaign to develop, publicize, and enforce guidelines setting standards for the responsible management of transferring catch between vessels at sea is gaining momentum.
The Food and Agriculture Organization is leading an effort to close loopholes allowing for transshipment of catch on the high seas, a practice the United Nations organization said encourages illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
Trygg Mat Tracking, Global Fishing Watch, the International Monitoring, Control, and Surveillance Network, and The Pew Charitable Trusts said in a report there is evidence some of the areas where transshipment of fresh fish takes place, especially at sea, “are inaccessible to fisheries inspectors that create gaps for unscrupulous operators to manipulate or otherwise omit data pertaining to their fishing practices and catches for financial gain.”
This lack of adequate monitoring and controls has bred conditions that could lead to an increase in IUU fishing and may facilitate the introduction of illegally sourced fish into the market, the report said.
The NGOs said they came to their conclusion following a review of a combination of satellite technology, machine learning, and public authorization data.
Moreover, the NGOs are concerned about the possibility of gaps in the enforcement of transshipment regulations, practices, and control mechanisms opening avenues for other “maritime crime such as trafficking of weapons, drugs, and even people.”
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https://www.seafoodsource.com/news/environment-sustainability/fao-ngos-push-for-guidelines-on-transfer-of-catch-at-sea