IUU fishing, working conditions and the Spanish seafood industry

The report identifies high-risk trade flows and species—specifically squid, Atlantic bluefin tuna, and swordfish—that expose the Spanish seafood industry to IUU fishing and labour abuses. While Spain is noted for its effective implementation of the EU IUU Regulation, the authors argue that government controls are insufficient to eliminate risk. They recommend that seafood businesses adopt voluntary due diligence tools, such as PAS 1550:2017, to ensure supply chain transparency and the protection of human rights.

• Spain is the largest importer of seafood from non-EU countries within the EU, importing over 1.1 million tonnes in 2020.
• Despite Spain's effective implementation of the EU IUU Regulation, products from IUU fishing can still enter the Spanish and EU markets due to the rapidly changing nature of IUU operators and legal loopholes.
• Spain imports significant quantities of seafood from countries that are either 'carded' under the EU IUU Regulation or identified as high-risk by the IUU Fishing Index, including Ecuador, Panama, Vietnam, and China.
• Squid is identified as a high-risk species due to largely unregulated global fisheries; in 2020, Spain imported over 10,000 tonnes of squid from China, a country with documented illegal fishing by its distant-water fleet.
• Atlantic bluefin tuna (ABFT) is high-risk for IUU fishing and mislabelling; a study of the Spanish commercial chain found that 73% of fish labelled as bluefin tuna were actually other species.
• Swordfish trade is susceptible to IUU risks and food fraud, with evidence of shortfin mako shark being marketed as swordfish in trade between Spain and Malta as recently as January 2022.
• IUU fishing is frequently linked to human rights and labour abuses, such as withholding wages and forced labour, particularly in the distant-water fleets of China and Taiwan.
• The report recommends that Spanish seafood companies adopt the PAS 1550:2017 voluntary code of practice to implement comprehensive due diligence and traceability throughout their supply chains.

APA

ClientEarth (2022). IUU fishing, working conditions and the Spanish seafood industry. https://www.clientearth.org/media/qpzlqzco/final-spain-iuu-risk-study-en.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. IUU fishing, working conditions and the Spanish seafood industry. 2022. https://www.clientearth.org/media/qpzlqzco/final-spain-iuu-risk-study-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=ClientEarth |title=IUU fishing, working conditions and the Spanish seafood industry |date=November 2022 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/qpzlqzco/final-spain-iuu-risk-study-en.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{clientearth2022iuu, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{IUU fishing, working conditions and the Spanish seafood industry}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2022}, month = nov, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/qpzlqzco/final-spain-iuu-risk-study-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }