Commitments made by the FAO have seen an increase in international participation in anti IUU fishing practices. The UN Committee On Fisheries produced a report concerning the status of anti IUU fishing strategies implemented by UN member states during the 34th COFI conference.[1] Additions to the COFI plan include the creation of a Global Record of Fishing beginning in 2017. COFI recommends that each vessel's Unique Vessel Identifier (UVI) number be uploaded to the registry.[1] Of the various member states, the COFI report recognizes that the utilization of the record is not yet prevalent in Asia, while European, North American, and Latin American nations have added the most vessels to the record.[1] Further recommendations by COFI mandate that the FAO continue to provide support to fisheries pursuing subsidies from the World Trade Organization.[1] The committee also called for the establishment of on transshipment, targeted to combat the practice of transferring illegal catch between vessels, making it more difficult to track illegal fishing operations.[1]COFI developed a series of Voluntary Guidelines for Catch Documentation Schemes (VGCDS) in 2017 in order to prevent the sale of products suspected of being attained through IUU fishing.[1] COFI has facilitated two international workshops to assist in the implementation of these guidelines. Annexes 1-3 of the report detail the recommendations that each member state has taken to measure international progress.[1]
The 34th UN Committee on Fisheries (COFI) report on Illegal, unreported and unregistered fishing concluded that further study must be conducted on the impact of IUU fishing. The report recommended the creation of a series of volumes including previous estimates of IUU impact and a set of best practices for fielding further study. [1]
Analysis conducted by the non-profit organization Oceana in partnership with Global Fishing Watch noted that in September 2020, 300 Chinese merchant vessels were spotted off the coast of the Galapagos fishing squid, tuna, sharks, and other marine life. Satellite data analysis found that various fishing vessels spent a cumulative 73,000 hours fishing near the Galapagos Islands between August and September 2020. Oceana concluded that this fishing negatively affected sensitive marine life in the region and that Chinese vessels actively sought to evade detection by local authorities, either by practicing illegal transshipment strategies or by disabling onboard public tracking devices.[1]
The exploitation of marine resources by illegal means is a problem acknowledged by Latin American countries on the Pacific coast. In November, 2020, the governments of Colombia, Chile, Peru and Ecuador released a joint official communique pledging to combat IUU off of its coasts in the coming decade.[2] The governments of these four countries have pledged to increase international cooperation in the protection of the South American Pacific Coast. The Chilean government has stated that it aims to aid in the designation of 30% of the ocean as a marine protected area by 2030 in an effort to disincentive IUU fishing. Global Fishing watch has also stated that greater transparency between Latin American nations and international cooperation are necessary to curve illegal fishing in the area.
- ^ Mustain, Patrick (2020-09-15). "Oceana Finds 300 Chinese Vessels Pillaging the Galapagos for Squid". Oceana USA. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
- ^ Minrel. "Comunicado por actividades pesqueras en aguas internacionales cercanas a aguas jurisdiccionales". Minrel (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-03-19.