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Summary:
Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is widely recognised as a significant environmental, economic and social problem. It represents a major threat to marine ecosystems, an unfair disadvantage for responsible fishermen, and a disruption for the seafood market. Combatting IUU fishing has become a key means for achieving sustainable management of global fisheries.
While the root cause of IUU fishing is states' failure to discipline vessels operating under their flag, tackling this phenomenon requires a many-sided approach and involves a whole range of international instruments. These instruments define a system of mutually reinforcing measures, tailored for each of the different responsibilities that countries have over their fishing vessels (as flag states), their waters (as coastal states), access to their ports (as port states), and access to their market (as market states).
In response to this global problem, the EU has set up a thorough control system, in particular the IUU Regulation 1005/2008, which remains to date a unique piece of fisheries legislation worldwide. Intended to prevent the import of IUU-caught products into the EU, the IUU Regulation is structured around key market-related measures, such as a catch certification scheme, which is the first unilateral scheme of this type, and a procedure for non-cooperating third countries that may lead to trade sanctions. A broad range of complementary measures reinforces this approach.
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