Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing on the High Seas: The Port State Measures Agreement in Context

Abstract

Despite stepped-up efforts to tackle illegal, unreported and unregulated (iuu) fishing on the high seas, it is flourishing. The threats that it poses, ranging from adverse effects on fish stocks to the destabilisation of coastal communities, warrant renewed urgent concern about its proliferation. There is general agreement amongst commentators, regulators and those on the ground alike that a multi-pronged approach to tackling iuu fishing is required which creatively employs the complementary legal tools currently available. The potential power of port state controls, as a relatively simple and economic means of hitting at the profitability of iuu fishing has recently received attention, in part due to the adoption of the 2009 fao Agreement on Port State Measures. This article provides input into the potential of this Agreement to meaningfully advance current efforts in tackling iuu fishing, particularly from an enforcement perspective, in combination with other existing regulatory efforts towards this end.