Saving Seafood

China Dominates ‘Dark’ Network Behind Global Fishing Crisis

June 4, 2025 — A new report exposes the sophisticated networks propping up Chinese squid fleets accused of illegal fishing off South America.

These activities—often carried out with Automatic Identification System (AIS) trackers turned off, or “dark”—are undercutting local fishers who depend on regional marine resources for their livelihoods, according to Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit C4ADS.

Illegal, Unreported And Unregulated

The rising demand for seafood and dwindling local stocks have pushed fishing fleets farther from home. The vessels now operate in international waters for months—even years—at a time, virtually unmonitored, increasing the risk of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and labor abuses.

China and Taiwan account for about 60 percent of distant-water fishing, and Chinese vessels in particular have faced growing scrutiny for allegedly operating illegally within South American exclusive economic zones, prompting rising grassroots pressure to tighten enforcement and close regulatory loopholes.

What To Know

The abundant stocks of jumbo flying squid and Argentine shortfin squid have attracted distant-water fishing fleets to the coasts of South America.

A report released Tuesday by the C4Dfound that 69 percent of squid jiggers operating off the Pacific and Atlantic coasts share ownership with ships allegedly involved in illicit activities, or vessels of concern.

While these operations are theoretically under the oversight of the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization (SPRFMO), enforcement is often spotty. The situation is even more tenuous on the Atlantic coast, which lacks a comparable fisheries management framework.

Read the full article at Newsweek

Cassidy, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Combat Foreign Illegal Fishing

April 9, 2025 — The following was released by Bill Cassidy:

U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), John Curtis (R-UT), and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) introduced the Protecting Global Fisheries Actto combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Predatory IUU fishing, particularly by China, disrupts international trade and undermines maritime security, marine ecosystems, and food and economic security. It often involves forced labor, human trafficking, unsafe working conditions, and other human rights abuses. IUU fishing directly harms the United States—a major harvester, importer, and consumer of seafood—by creating unfair competition for fishermen who abide by international fishing laws.

“Louisiana produces the best seafood in the world. Competitors abroad outprice us with illegal practices. It hurts our jobs, economy, and national security. Let’s protect our way of life,” said Dr. Cassidy. 

The Protecting Global Fisheries Act would:

  • Authorize the President to impose visa, asset, and financial sanctions on foreign persons or foreign vessels found responsible or complicit in IUU fishing and the sale, supply, purchase, or transfer of endangered species.
  • Require the U.S. Departments of State and U.S. Defense to regularly provide briefings to Congress on efforts and strategies to combat IUU fishing.
  • Assert that the United States will prioritize countering IUU fishing in collaboration with friendly countries and via international forums.

Background

IUU fishing violates national and international fishing laws, including fishing without a license for certain species, failing to report catches or making false reports, using prohibited fishing gear, or conducting unauthorized transfers of fish to cargo vessels. It has become a particular challenge in the Western Hemisphere, costing nearly $2.7 billion in lost revenue annually and making up more than 20 percent of all catches in Latin America. The increasing presence of illegal Chinese fishing vessels has significantly contributed to the rise in IUU fishing in the hemisphere and around the world.

 

NOAA Fisheries’ plan to expand Seafood Import Monitoring Program still leaves questions

March 19, 2025 — As it approaches a decade in force, the overall impact of Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) on defeating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing – and how its new update to cover all species will help – remains unclear.

It has been eight years since NOAA Fisheries first created SIMP under the administration of then-U.S. President Barack Obama, and the agency has now decided it needs an update.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Chinese government quietly heeding NGO advice by trying to rein in provincial distant-water fleets

February 7, 2025 — China has become more receptive to advice and pressure from international NGOs on illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing matters, according to Hang Zhou, a professor at Montreal, Quebec, Canada-based University of Laval.

Zhou, who has a postdoctoral background in fisheries research and has collaborated both with wildlife conservation groups and Chinese international diplomacy groups, told SeafoodSource that international NGOs in the fisheries sector “have [direct] channels of communication and interaction with Chinese line ministries and research institutes.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

NOAA withdraws proposed rule intended to strengthen penalties on IUU fishing

January 23, 2025 — NOAA has withdrawn a proposed rule intended to further crack down on illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. 

The rule, first proposed in 2016, was intended to strengthen regulations that protect against IUU fishing by amending or bolstering other rules already in force, such as the Agreement on Port State Measures – a U.N. treaty intended to help port states cooperate in the fight against IUU fishing.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

First-ever USTR strategy to combat forced labor prominently features seafood supply chain

January 17, 2025 — The United States Trade Representative (USTR) recently released its first-ever Trade Strategy to Combat Forced Labor, which covers the seafood supply chain and illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing prominently.

The USTR said the new strategy is the first time the U.S. has ever laid out a comprehensive approach to using trade tools to combat forced labor in supply chains. USTR Ambassador Katherine Tai said the new strategy is intended to use trade as a tool to reduce and eventually end the presence of forced labor in the U.S. supply chain.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

NOAA unveils new action plan to expand SIMP after scrapping earlier proposal

November 14, 2024 — NOAA Fisheries has unveiled an action plan for its Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) that the agency said has a renewed focus on combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, enhancing seafood traceability, and expanding traceability requirements to all U.S. seafood imports.

NOAA first created SIMP in 2016 under the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama as a means of imposing stricter monitoring of seafood imports, requiring at-risk seafood species to be tracked to its source and properly labeled. NOAA announced a major proposal on 28 December 2022 that would have doubled the species the program targets – a push that ultimately failed after NOAA decided to withdraw the additional rules in November 2023.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

North Pacific Patrols Again Document Widespread Illegal Fishing

November 4, 2024 — The waters of the North Pacific continue to be hotspots for illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, report the U.S. and Canadian Coast Guard at the conclusion of more than two months of patrols. They are reporting the harvesting of shark fins continues unabated, as are criminal activities largely masterminds by dark fleet vessels.

The annual multinational mission known as Operation North Pacific Guard included patrolling the waters both at sea, in the air, as well as through satellite observations. They report it has once again exposed the deeply rooted menace of IUU.

The mission, which is led by Canada and brings together partners including the U.S., Japan, and Korea, saw Canadian fishery officers and crew aboard the multipurpose coast guard ship Sir Wilfrid Laurier patrol over 20,000 kilometers of North Pacific waters. During the mission, they conducted inspections of 15 fishing vessels and found illegally harvested shark fins, evidence of fishing during a closed season, and unreported catch. They also documented instances of marine pollution.

Read the full article at The Maritime Executive