Up to $23.5 billion worth of seafood is stolen from the sea each year. That’s 1 in 5 fish sold. This pillaging of the world’s oceans threatens fish stocks, undercuts law-abiding fishers, and harms the economies of coastal communities.
The Pew Charitable Trusts is working with governments, enforcement authorities, technology experts, and key players from the seafood industry to tackle this challenge. Our global system includes:
With the right policies, tools, leadership, and a commitment to sharing information, we can end illegal fishing.
These blog posts spotlight some of the key takeaways.
Part One: Photos: Agents Probe Ship for Signs of Illegal Fishing
Thai officials and foreign experts offer guidance on how to perform tough port inspections that the country has begun carrying out as a party to a United Nations treaty aimed at combating illegal fishing.
Part Two: 6 Ways Pew’s System for Fighting Illegal Fishing Is Working
Since 2009, The Pew Charitable Trusts has been working around the world to end illegal fishing through a strategic combination of policy, market, technology, and enforcement efforts. Here are six ways in which we know our system is paying off.
Part Three: With High-Tech Eyes, Authorities Corner Illegal Fishers
Throughout most of history, illegal fishers have roamed the world’s ocean, plundering with little fear of being caught or punished. Now, though, new technology coupled with stronger national and international policies is giving the good guys the upper hand—a shift that can’t come soon enough.
Part Four: Up to 1 in 5 Fish Sold Is Caught Illegally—and Other Surprising Illegal Fishing Facts
Our ocean is under assault from a battery of threats that are damaging ecosystems, depleting fish stocks, and changing the marine environment. One of those threats gets relatively little attention but is both serious and solvable: large-scale illegal fishing.