Combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing is caring for marine resources

Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU fishing) is one of the most serious problems currently facing the man- agement of the world’s fisheries. Both legal harvest as well as marine ecosystems are threatened. Fighting this crime is the highest priority of Norwegian fisheries management.

Norway has instituted a range of measures to combat IUU fishing. We have sought a viable solution by combining efforts directed towards overcapacity in the commercial fish- ing fleet. We have implemented comprehensive measures aimed at strengthening control of fishing activities at sea and the landing of fish. The fisheries regulations are enforced both at sea, when the fish is landed and when it is exported. Both Norwegian and foreign fishing vessels are subject to

stringent controls in all Norwegian waters. The effective cooperation between the Norwegian Coast Guard at sea, and the Directorate of Fisheries and the sales organisations on land, is a key factor in this process. New tools for risk assessment and prioritisation of control activities are already producing results.

IUU fishing is, to a great extent, a transnational problem and can only be combated through international cooperation. An extensive framework of international measures has evolved, and the control of fishing on shared fish stocks requires close cooperation between affected states. Norway currently has co-operative agreements on this control and anti-IUU meas- ures in place with the European Commission, Russia, Iceland, the UK, Lithuania, Sweden, Denmark, Faroe Islands, the Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, Canada, Poland, Estonia and Morocco.

Norway adopted a black list of vessels that had been engaged in IUU activities in North East Atlantic waters in 1994, and banned such vessels from fishing in Norwegian waters. The concept of a black list has since been adopted by several regional fisheries management organisations where Norway is a member.

On a regional level, the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC), on Norway’s initiative, adopted a binding regional agreement on port state control for all fish supplied from catches in the North East Atlantic. The agree- ment is based on the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation’s (FAO) model for port state control.

Norway has also been active in promoting the FAO model for port state control on an even wider scale. At the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement (UNFSA) Review Conference in May 2006, a Norwegian proposal for the establishment of a global, binding regime for port state control obtained the necessary support.