The NOAA Fisheries’ biennial report to Congress has for the first time identified nations on the basis of illegal catches of sharks, as well as taking forced labour issues into consideration.
The influential report to the US Congress identifies nations and entities that the United States will work with to address IUU fishing and forced labour activities, and to support effective management of protected species. The US views IUU fishing as a serious global problem that threatens ocean ecosystems and sustainable fisheries critical to global food and economic security, and one that also puts law-abiding fishermen and seafood producers at a disadvantage.
In its 2023 Report, NOAA Fisheries has identified seven nations and entities for IUU fishing – Angola, Grenada, Mexico, the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, The Gambia, and Vanuatu.
Identifications for the PRC and Taiwan include information related to seafood-related goods produced through forced labour. The PRC and Vanuatu are additionally identified for shark catch without a regulatory programme comparable to that of the United States.
The 2023 Report announces certification determinations for thirty-one nations and entities identified for IUU fishing and/or bycatch of protected marine life from its 2021 Report.
With reference to IUU Fishing Costa Rica, Guyana, Senegal, and Taiwan received positive certification determinations for taking actions to remedy the IUU fishing activities identified in the 2021 Report. Mexico, the PRC, and the Russian Federation received negative certifications for failing to take actions to remedy their reported activities.
In terms of protected marine life by-catch, Croatia, Egypt, the European Union, Grenada, Guyana, Japan, Mauritania, Morocco, the People’s Republic of China, Portugal, the Republic of Korea, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, South Africa, and Taiwan received positive certifications for taking corrective actions to address their protected marine life bycatch activities identified in the 2021 Report.
There are negative certifications for Algeria, Barbados, Côte d’Ivoire, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Namibia, Senegal, Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, and Turkey for failing to implement regulatory programme comparable to those of the United States to reduce by-catch of sea turtles in pelagic longline fisheries in the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas waters beyond any national jurisdiction.
Mexico is also negatively certified for its lack of a comparable regulatory programme to reduce or minimise bycatch of endangered North Pacific loggerhead sea turtles.
