Review of Impacts of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing on Developing Countries in Asia

A study of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) was conducted across all maritime states from Pakistan in the west to Vietnam in the east, including those at the core of the Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem (BOBLME) region.  Each state covered by the study was researched in detail in order to understand the national fisheries sector, relevant legislation and associated IUU issues, with a range of literature and media sources reviewed to collate a comprehensive summary of recorded IUU incidences. A risk based (likelihood impact) assessment was then conducted for each State in combination with reported catch data and regional price information were then used to generate estimates of losses incurred by IUU fishing across all study states, quantified in terms of both tonnage and revenue.

Final report available at www.boblme.org/documentRepository/BOBLME-2015-Governance-15.pdf 

Cover image: Trash fish in an Asian trawl fishery (Credit: Dr R Wakeford)