Billion Dollar Dark Business

Illegal, unreported and unregistered (IUU) fishing is a major global problem, and is often associated with other criminal activitiesLinks to an external site. such as drug trafficking and arms smuggling. Just like other illegal activities, IUU fishing is extremely lucrative. Despite difficultly to precisely evaluate the total catch from pirate fishing, it is estimated that around 26 millionLinks to an external site. tons of fish and other marine resources are caught illegally every year to supply a black market valued between 10 to 23 billionLinks to an external site. dollars.

One in every five fish caught in the word's ocean is thought to caught from IUU fishing. Source: One Earth Future Links to an external site.

Ships belonging to no countries

Near the end of 2020, alarms went off in the Galapagos Islands as well as most of the Pacific Ocean coastline in South America, triggered by the presence of hundreds of fishing vessels on their marine sanctuaries. These ships are part of the Distant Water Fleets (DWF) which accounts for vessels fish outside of their own territories, often near exclusive economic zones (EEZ).  Just five countries Links to an external site. are responsible for 90 percent of distant-water fishing effort. China and Taiwan alone account for 60 percent of distant-water fishing activity, while Japan, South Korea, and Spain account for about 10 percent each. Asia’s DWF growth in recent years corresponds Links to an external site. with a drop in seafood imports as it aims to meet huge demand.

Distant Water Fleets (navy blue dots) spotted near the coastline of Latin America. Source: Diálogo Chino Links to an external site..

Distant-water fishing industry is unsustainable Links to an external site. and only benefit just a handful of fishing companies. While capturing the bounty of coastal nations that often have poor governance and limited resources, DWF often target fish-rich areas with easy access to markets and low governance capabilities. Because EEZ are international waters, coastal countries have no capacity to forbid the fleets and block their entrance. 

Government's Response

The President of Ecuador announced the formation of a team of specialists to protect Galapagos through his Twitter account. Source: Twitter Links to an external site.

Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno announced a formation of a "protection team Links to an external site." with specialist and former political authorities in charge of coming up with strategies to protect the Galapagos and the maritime resources of Ecuador. In addition to establishing the specialist team, Ecuador’s government met virtually Links to an external site. with Chinese authorities to discuss the activities of the distant fishing fleet. 

However, action from Ecuadorian government alone is not enough. As team member of the Ecuadorian specialist team, Yolanda Kakabadse expressed her concerns on illegal fishing activities in South America. "It also requires working together with all the other governments of South America, from Costa Rica, in Panama, in Central America to all the countries on the coast of the Pacific, " said by Kakabadse in her interview with Mongabay, "We all need to have a common front, a common policy and strategy to protect our resources."

Yolanda Kakabadse's interview with Mongabay, her opinion on illegal fishing starts at 28:15, source: YouTube Links to an external site.