August 16, 2021 — NOAA has released its annual report to US Congress to combat illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing and human rights abuses in the seafood supply chain.
The report identifies 31 nations and entities for IUU fishing activities and bycatch of protected marine life on the high seas, where nations lack conservation measures comparable to those of the United States.
The report contains several key findings, according to NOAA, including evidence that China, Costa Rica, Guyana, Mexico, the Russian Federation, Senegal and Taiwan all operated vessels engaged in IUU fishing activities between 2018-2020.
Several other countries and blocs, including the European Union, Japan and the Republic of Korea were all identified as lacking a regulatory program comparable in effectiveness to the United States to reduce the bycatch of protected marine life in their fishing operations.