The seafood sector and governments must join forces to combat illegal fishing

A coalition of over 150 seafood retailers and companies, including SeaBOS and the Global Tuna Alliance, is calling for a joint effort between industry and governments to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The proposed strategy focuses on two pillars: implementing global traceability standards developed by the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST) to ensure transparency from 'bait to plate', and strengthening port controls aligned with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization's Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA) to prevent illegal catches from entering supply chains.

• Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing threatens marine ecosystems, human rights, and fish stocks, while causing billions of dollars in losses to national economies. The risk has been increased by COVID-19 precautions that limited monitoring and enforcement.
• A coalition of more than 150 seafood companies and retailers—including the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI), the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF), the Global Tuna Alliance (GTA), Seafood Business for Ocean Stewardship (SeaBOS), and the Global Dialogue for Seafood Traceability (GDST)—is advocating for a combined industry-government response to IUU fishing.
• Establishing global traceability standards is essential to create transparency in the seafood supply chain. The coalition endorses standards from the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST), which define 'key data elements' and IT specifications to allow buyers to trace fish from origin to sale.
• Governments are urged to ratify and implement the UN Food and Agriculture Organization's Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA), which has been ratified by the European Union and 66 nations. Effective port controls prevent IUU vessels from landing catch and require international information sharing to ensure vessels cannot simply move to a different harbor.

APA

Leape, J. (2021). The seafood sector and governments must join forces to combat illegal fishing. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/the-seafood-sector-and-governments-must-join-forces-to-combat-illegal-fishing/

Chicago

Leape, Jim. The seafood sector and governments must join forces to combat illegal fishing. World Economic Forum, 2021. https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/the-seafood-sector-and-governments-must-join-forces-to-combat-illegal-fishing/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Leape |first1=Jim |title=The seafood sector and governments must join forces to combat illegal fishing |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=16 February 2021 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/the-seafood-sector-and-governments-must-join-forces-to-combat-illegal-fishing/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{leape2021seafood, author = {Leape, Jim}, title = {{The seafood sector and governments must join forces to combat illegal fishing}}, publisher = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2021}, month = feb, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/the-seafood-sector-and-governments-must-join-forces-to-combat-illegal-fishing/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }