ENSURING COMPANIES ADDRESS ADVERSE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS IN THEIR VALUE CHAINS: THE CASE OF ILLEGAL FISHING

The briefing examines the necessity of including illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing within the scope of the EU's Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). It highlights that IUU fishing accounts for approximately 20% of wild-caught ocean fish annually and acts as a multiplier for environmental degradation, including the decline of fish stocks and destruction of marine habitats. The document critiques current Commission and Council proposals for being too restrictive and instead recommends a cumulative approach that combines specific categories of environmental impacts (such as biodiversity loss and marine ecosystem degradation) with a comprehensive list of international environmental conventions, including the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Paris Agreement.

• IUU fishing significantly exacerbates the decline of marine biodiversity and ecosystem health, acting as a multiplier for existing environmental pressures. It is estimated to account for roughly 20 per cent of all wild-caught ocean fish every year.
• The European Union is highly susceptible to importing products derived from IUU fishing because it is the largest global market for aquaculture and fisheries products and relies heavily on imports.
• Current proposals from the EU Commission and Council for the CSDDD are deemed insufficient because they limit adverse environmental impacts to violations of specific listed international conventions, which excludes critical marine and fisheries instruments.
• The briefing recommends that the final CSDDD text should cumulatively reference both a list of environmental impact categories (including climate change, biodiversity loss, and degradation of marine ecosystems) and a comprehensive list of international conventions, such as the Paris Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity.

APA

ClientEarth (2023). ENSURING COMPANIES ADDRESS ADVERSE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS IN THEIR VALUE CHAINS: THE CASE OF ILLEGAL FISHING. https://www.clientearth.org/media/qbzmlbcu/ensuring-companies-address-adverse-environmental-impacts-in-their-value-chains-the-case-of-illegal-fishing.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. ENSURING COMPANIES ADDRESS ADVERSE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS IN THEIR VALUE CHAINS: THE CASE OF ILLEGAL FISHING. 2023. https://www.clientearth.org/media/qbzmlbcu/ensuring-companies-address-adverse-environmental-impacts-in-their-value-chains-the-case-of-illegal-fishing.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=ClientEarth |title=ENSURING COMPANIES ADDRESS ADVERSE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS IN THEIR VALUE CHAINS: THE CASE OF ILLEGAL FISHING |date=October 2023 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/qbzmlbcu/ensuring-companies-address-adverse-environmental-impacts-in-their-value-chains-the-case-of-illegal-fishing.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{clientearth2023ensuring, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{ENSURING COMPANIES ADDRESS ADVERSE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS IN THEIR VALUE CHAINS: THE CASE OF ILLEGAL FISHING}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2023}, month = oct, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/qbzmlbcu/ensuring-companies-address-adverse-environmental-impacts-in-their-value-chains-the-case-of-illegal-fishing.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }