To criminalise or not to criminalise IUU fishing: The EU’s choice

The fight against the global phenomenon of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is carried out through a wide variety of international, regional and national instruments, although its effectiveness is not sufficient in view of the results obtained. The search for the most effective solution is currently under way. Among the possible models to adopt, some countries, such as Norway and Indonesia, have advocated for the criminalisation of IUU fishing.

The EU has also opted for a management-based model to combat IUU fishing that relies on administrative sanctions, also leaving its Member States the option of adopting criminal sanctions. Subsequently, in the proposed recast Directive on environmental crime, the EU has not recognised IUU fishing as an either an environmental or autonomous crime, unless it converges with transnational organised crime and other associated crimes in the fisheries sector. The EU has promoted its model in non-member countries, and has contributed towards paving the way to a level playing field which comprises the most authoritative set of international legal instruments on IUU fishing, both soft and hard, established by the UN and FAO. Nevertheless, discussions are ongoing on the need to reform EU legal instruments to better contribute to the sustainable use of marine resources in the 21st century in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals as foreseen in the EU Green Deal.