The Rise of Environmental Crime: A Growing Threat to Natural Resources, Peace, Development and Security

Fisheries crimes According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, 29% of global fish stocks were overfished or extinct in 2011 and well over half of global fish stocks are fully exploited. 147 At the same time, fish and fish-products are 20% of the source of animal protein for 3 billion people around the world and the fish and fish-farming industry secures the livelihoods of between 10 and 12 per cent of the global population, most of these in developing countries. 148

It is estimated that on average 18% (geographically ranging 3–37%) of the global catch, or as much as 11–26 million tons of fish, is caught illegally each year. 149 Illegal fishing undermines food security, livelihoods, fisheries management and biodi- versity. 150 Illegal fishing threatens the subsistence existence of coastal communities worldwide, but particularly in developed countries with weak governance structures. The UN General Assembly has therefore repeatedly called for more knowledge about the links between illegal fishing and organised crime. 151 There are several inherent factors that make the fisheries sector particularly susceptible to crime. 152 The industry is a truly global enterprise, with fish caught both in areas within and outside national jurisdiction, and in remote areas beyond the scrutiny of ordinary law enforcement agencies. There is great mobility of actors, infrastructure (vessels) and commodities. Added to this is a vague international legal framework governing the law of the sea, which fails in many respects to fully take on board the implication of transna- tional organised crime taking place at sea and particularly in the fisheries sector. An example of this is that, despite the well-documented harmful consequences of allowing anonymous ownership of vessels in states that are unable or unwilling to exercise their law enforcement jurisdic- tion over the vessels on their flag, this practice continues unabated. Since the turn of the millennium this trend has but increased. Of particular concern is that private compa- nies can, and do, buy the right to register vessels in vulner- able flag states in order to offer vessel owners the opportu- nity to register their vessels in countries unable or unwilling to enforce their laws over them. These companies sell impu- nity to criminals at sea. In 2013 INTERPOL established a focus project to assist its member states investigate criminal offences committed within the fisheries sector. 153 Fisheries crime offences typically range from fraud and forgery, to breaches of regulations and associated crimes, such as human trafficking and trafficking in illicit goods. 154 It involves criminal organisations organ- ised as mafia-style hierarchies such as the Vidal family 155 and looser network configurations, to state corporate criminals operating with the implicit support of their governments. 156

In one recent case a fishing vessel was arrested on suspicion of being stateless, which was later confirmed. The docu- ments on board the vessel pertaining to vessel identity and safety certification were confirmed to be forgeries. There was strong suspicion that the crew had not been paid, fraudulent commercial invoices had been issued, and income was most likely never declared to the revenue services. Over a more than ten-year period this one vessel had probably caught an estimated 10.000 tons of Patagonian toothfish with a market value (in today’s terms) of USD 200–300 million. Of equal concern was the fact that the vessel engaged in an extremely harmful fishing method using gillnets, which involves the setting of nets of up to 150 km of length. There are a worrying number of reports that these gillnets are left behind in the Southern Ocean when they snag and break off or if the vessel flees to avoid detection, killing entangled fish. There is moreover mounting evidence that the vulnerabilities of the fisheries sector (their geographical reach, coupled with vague legal regulation) make the industry susceptible to cross-

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