Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing activities have been among the most critical threats to marine ecosystems. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recognised the threat and announced the International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter, and Eliminate IUU Fishing (IPOA-IUU) in 2001. However, we are still witnessing serious IUU fishing activities nearly 20 years after the announcement.
Longxing 629 is a Chinese tuna longliner that operated in the convention area of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) for 13 months, from March 2019 to April 2020. Investigations have revealed that the Indonesian crew members on board the vessel experienced the deaths of four colleague fishers, were subjected to human rights violations constituting human trafficking, and were exploited to commit IUU fishing, including shark finning.
Advocates for Public Interest Law (APIL), Citizens’ Institute for Environmental Studies (CIES), Korea Federation for Environmental Movements (KFEM), and Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) have released a new report which includes a detailed description of IUU fishing activities and human rights abuses against Indonesian crew committed onboard the vessel; and an analysis on the allegedly breached international agreements, namely the WCPFC Conservation and Management Measures (CMMs), Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and WHO-ILO-IMO International Medical Guide for Ships (IMGS)
Read the full report here.
For more information please contact:
Eunhee Kim
Korean Federation for Environmental Movement
Email: ekim@kfem.or.kr