Fishing activity that violates national or international fisheries laws, including fishing without a valid license, in a closed area or season, using prohibited gear, exceeding a catch quota, or fishing in another state's waters without authorization. It is frequently grouped with unreported and unregulated fishing under the collective term IUU fishing, a major driver of the depletion of global fish stocks and a source of significant economic loss to coastal states and legitimate fishing industries. International efforts to combat it include the Food and Agriculture Organization's Port State Measures Agreement, which allows states to deny port access to vessels suspected of the offense.
Facts
Classification CodeIllegal fishing is one of the three components of the broader illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing category and is classified as taking place when vessels or harvesters operate in violation of the laws of a fishery, whether those laws belong to a coastal state, a flag state, or a regional fisheries management organization the vessel is bound by. 1 Typical PenaltyEnforcement increasingly relies on targeted financial sanctions against the companies profiting from illegal fishing rather than only vessel level fines: in December 2022 the United States Secretary of the Treasury sanctioned the fishing conglomerate Pingtan Marine Enterprise over its role in illegal fishing. 1 Elements of OffenseThe offense has two further components beyond illegal fishing itself: unreported fishing, meaning a catch that has gone unreported or been misreported to the relevant national authority or regional fisheries management organization, and unregulated fishing, meaning fishing carried out by a vessel without nationality or flying the flag of a state that is not party to the applicable regional fisheries management organization. 1 Notable ExampleThe economic scale of illegal fishing is severe in weakly enforced coastal states: in 2001 Tanzania was estimated to have lost $20 million to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, while in Somalia such catches removed more than $450 million in fish value. 1 Classification
Offense GradeMinor or Summary Offense 1 Connections
Has Offense Grade
Entity-backed identity for the offense-grade enum value this offense already carries, resolved to a crime concept by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The offense-grade fact itself stays on the offense unchanged.
Sources
1. Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (Wikipedia)
WikipediaDefinitions section, illegal fishing clause
Illegal fishing takes place when vessels or harvesters operate in violation of the laws of a fishery.
Definitions section, unregulated fishing clause
Unregulated fishing generally refers to fishing by vessels without nationality, vessels flying the flag of a country not party to the RFMO
Economic impacts, Africa section
in Tanzania, in 2001 $20 million was lost due to IUU fishing, and in Somalia the IUU catches removed more than $450 million in fish value
Enforcement section, Pingtan Marine Enterprise sanctions
In December 2022, the United States Secretary of the Treasury issued sanctions on Pingtan Marine Enterprise
View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.