Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing poses a potentially enduring threat to the security and well-being of the United States and its neighbors across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The region suffers several negative impacts from IUU fishing, including billions of dollars in economic losses and environmental costs due to over-fishing. In addition, IUU fishing is associated with a number of other illicit criminal activities. The fishing industry has long been known for ties to human trafficking, especially forced labor by migrant workers, exorbitant recruitment and repatriation fees, onerous and unsafe living and working conditions, and other forms of abuse. Countries across the region struggle to combat IUU fishing due to limited capacity to defend their exclusive economic zones and fisheries, including a lack of the intelligence and mapping capabilities needed to monitor IUU fishing operations in their waters.
With a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of State, CLALS has launched a one-year project to assess and analyze the impacts of IUU fishing and efforts to combat it by LAC states. This project will examine the scope of IUU fishing-related legislation and local law enforcement capacity to interdict IUU fishing across the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. It will also assess the extent and scope of crimes associated with IUU fishing activities and collect local anecdotes on the adverse impacts of IUU fishing in the region.
This project is a collaboration between CLALS and InSight Crime, a non-profit journalism and investigative organization based in Washington, DC and Medell铆n, Colombia, that specializes in organized crime in Latin America and the Caribbean. This initiative is led by 国产小呦女School of International Service Associate Professor, Matthew Taylor, and InSight Crime Co-Director听Steven Dudley.
Hybrid Panel: "The Threat of Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing in Latin America and the Caribbean"
September 9, 2022 |
CLALS hosted听an in-person and remote event at 国产小呦女 in September, where听panelists discussed the latest trends in IUU fishing, including perpetrators and adverse impact across Costa Rica, Panama, Jamaica, Guyana, Suriname, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, and Ecuador.
Speakers included听, Director of One Health Ecuador;听, Professor at University of British Columbia's School of Public Policy and Global Affairs;听, Latin America correspondent for The Associated Press;听,听Ocean Policy听Coordinator听of C铆rculo de Pol铆ticos Ambientales NGO;听, Advisor of Fisheries Management and Development at CRFM Secretariat; and听, Director of MarViva Foundation.听
This was a free event hosted in English in partnership with听. 听