The fishing industry generates about 148 billion USD per year, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs worldwide. But its volume and complexity also make it vulnerable to exploitation by transnational organized crime. As such, UNODC and the government of Ecuador organized the first “Regional Conference on Fisheries Crime” of the Americas on 12-13 September in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
Taking advantage of legal gaps and weak institutions, criminal groups engage in a wide range of illicit activities related to fisheries, including tax evasion, extortion of fishermen, forced labour, money laundering, and corruption of officials.
In the process of enriching themselves, these groups also harm the fragile marine environment and destroy ecosystems for millions of species.
The meeting discussed a common understanding of the concept, scope and implications of fisheries crime, since its ill-defined nature can get in the way of effective action.
Participants also exchanged good practices and successful experiences in the detection, investigation, prosecution and sentencing of fisheries crime, and identified areas where UNODC could provide technical assistance.
Among the examples of fisheries crime shared by participants were excessive fishing in the Galapagos Islands and the illicit trafficking of Totoaba in Mexico.
Solutions to fisheries crime can and should be found in the constructive dialogue between companies, fishing communities, and governments,
…said Susana Villacis Pelaez, Vice Minister of Aquaculture and Fisheries of Ecuador.
The meeting was organized in the framework of UNODC’s FishNET program and was sponsored by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD). It was held in preparation for the upcoming Fourth International Symposium on Fisheries Crime in Copenhagen, Denmark, in October this year. Participants came from 12 countries in the Americas as well as from international and civil society organizations.
