(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) A murky practice known as Illegal, Unlicensed, Unregulated (IUU) fishing is costing Indian Ocean countries billions of dollars in lost revenue.
Estimates of the cost of IUU fishing suggest that it may account for as much as one-fifth of the total global catch, valued between US$10bn and US$23.5bn per year.
According to an independent UK-based Global Ocean Commission, this illegal practice makes it difficult to manage fishery quota, harms local fishermen who have to head deeper for their daily catch, and is also linked to other crimes such as trafficking of drugs, weapons and humans.
A report published in 2013 by the UN Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea stated that with the decline in pirate activity, criminal networks were ‘reverting to prior, familiar patterns of illicit behaviour, including armed protection of fishing activities and illegal fishing'.
Piero Mannini, senior fishery officer (Near-East and North Africa) at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) Near East Regional Commission for Fisheries said that the organisation conducted the first regional review of IUU fishing in 2009. The FAO's Secretary of the Regional Commission for Fisheries will also follow up on the problems of IUU fishing ‘later this year, or in the course of 2015'.
''In addition (the commission) has been considering the establishment of a regional database of violations, however, no final decision has been taken yet,'' added Mannini.
A number of non-governmental organisations, international bodies, and fisheries agencies monitor the problem created by IUU, which according to the Oceans Beyond Piracy Secure Fisheries project, was an ‘increased concern in the (Indian Ocean) region'. Robert Mazurek, director of the project said, ''We don't have concrete information on the level and extent of IUU fishing within Oman's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), though many think it is significant.''
According to Mazurek, Oman last year formally ratified the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA), a key international treaty in keeping illegally caught fish from entering the market, the formal ratification of which made Oman the first Arab state to become party to the treaty.
The FAO adopted the PSMA in 2009, a pact that requires countries that have ratified it to deny landing and services to vessels that have been involved in IUU fishing.
Glen Forbes, founder of maritime monitoring platform OCEANUSLive, said that a key aspect in the problem in identifying those responsible for IUU fishing was that they come under so many different flag states, along with changing ownership.
''China clearly has a major impact, but Thai, Taiwanese, Indonesian, Spanish and Japanese fishing vessels are some of the major offenders,'' he said.
''The Indian Ocean IUU problem is so big that it is a difficult region to monitor in any meaningful manner, and West Africa is no less an area of concern. However, the nations stated may be considered the most prolific, but IUU activity throughout the Indian Ocean right up through the Sea of Oman is prevalent but almost accepted though being largely ignored.''
Forbes added, ''Another issue is the fact that some IUU fishing vessels conduct nefarious deals with Somali states to get the right to fish in the waters, although the licences are invalid. Some dhows that have claimed to have been hijacked and then released by pirates have occasionally been suspected of having not paid the (Somali) security team who then turn on them before disembarking.''
The current international focus on piracy in the region has meant that many organisations ‘have basically accepted that any fishing activity as normal pattern of life', he added.
''Despite the fact that EU Navfor (counter-piracy mission), for example, monitors fishing activity as part of its mandate, it is mainly based on activity off Somalia. The NATO Shipping Centre has a ‘Dhow Identification' project, but is based on suspicious activity reports relating to piracy. Without an effectively maintained database of fishing vessels in the region, it is extremely difficult to identify IUU from legitimate vessels. Remember, they will travel some distance for their catch.''
Forbes also said that OCEANUSLive had originally intended to include reports of suspect fishing activity in its reporting, but ‘too many were reluctant to file such reports and was exacerbated by commercial shipping, and international navies focused on piracy first and foremost'.
In addition, a number of Oman-registered fishing vessels have been found fishing in international waters (EEZs) without the required authorisation, according to a report by the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission.
The report states that in 2012 Oman-flagged fishing vessels were found in violation of fishing laws, the majority of which were concerned with illegally taking fish stock from EEZs, in violation of their existing permission. Most of the vessels suspected of IUU fishing were only permitted to fish within Oman's EEZ.
An Oman-flagged fishing vessel was stopped in 2009 inside the Tanzanian EEZ, with over 70 tonnes of illegally caught tuna fish. In 2012, the captain and agent of the vessel were found guilty of illegal fishing in Tanzanian waters by the country's High Court. They were sentenced to 20 years imprisonment or ordered to pay Tanzanian Shilling 1bn (approximately US$595,780) as fine.
The World Bank estimated that Tanzania loses more than US$220mn each year to illegal fishing vessels operating in its Indian Ocean EEZ.
Mazurek said that Oman-flagged fishing vessels could have conducted IUU fishing.
''Some Oman-flagged fishing vessels are believed to be have been engaged in IUU fishing. I should also point out that most vessels suspected of IUU fishing change names often, so they are very hard to track. A good example is an Oman-flagged vessel, which has changed names at least five times since 1999. Because of this there is a growing call for all fishing vessels to have permanent International Maritime Organization numbers registered as a condition for landing their c
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