More than 200 villages along Ghana’s coastline rely on fisheries as their primary source of income. However, Ghana's small pelagic fishery, crucial for food security and livelihoods, is on the brink of collapse following decades of over-exploitation. The illegal practice of 'saiko' fishing - the transhipment of fish at sea from industrial trawlers to local canoes - has had a particularly destructive impact on Ghana’s small pelagic fisheries. This briefing looks at the scale of the practice and its impacts on livelihoods, food security and sustainability.

The Government of Ghana has committed to rebuilding the nation’s fisheries through key measures set out in the 2015-2019 Fisheries Management Plan. The national fisheries law framework is also undergoing a revision to ensure emerging challenges are addressed and to bring Ghana’s laws into line with international standards. This process offers a crucial opportunity to ensure principles of sustainable management and good governance are enshrined within Ghana’s fisheries laws and future policies. 

A new international agreement on migration – the UN Global Compact on Migration – is set to be adopted in autumn 2018. It covers a range of issues, from the drivers of migration to access to social services, and offers a chance to improve the governance of migration. However, as a soft-power tool that does not place any binding obligations on states, it cannot replace the unambiguous, legally binding agreement to protect climate refugees that EJF is calling for. 

Investigations by EJF into the related problems of human trafficking and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in Taiwan’s massive distant water fishing fleet has revealed worrying findings. This briefing details the structural shortcomings in Taiwan’s management of its deep water fleet that allow human trafficking and human rights abuses to persist. 

Ten years after the adoption of the EU IUU Regulation, this new report by EJF, Oceana, The Pew Charitable Trusts and WWF examines how the EU’s carding system has impacted the flow of seafood products into and within the EU.

It is the first detailed analysis to show that shifts in seafood import flows have occurred since 2010 that appear directly related to the IUU Regulation. The report focuses on ‘high risk’ trade flows to the EU, in terms of the likelihood that products were caught in contravention of applicable fisheries rules.

Contrary to previous analyses, the report shows that weaknesses in member state import controls and uneven standards could be providing a route for non-compliant products to enter the EU market.

This short paper provides highlights from the Report 'The Impact of the IUU Regulation on Seafood Trade Flows'

Description of the full report:
Ten years after the adoption of the EU IUU Regulation, this new report by EJF, Oceana, The Pew Charitable Trusts and WWF examines how the EU’s carding system has impacted the flow of seafood products into and within the EU.

It is the first detailed analysis to show that shifts in seafood import flows have occurred since 2010 that appear directly related to the IUU Regulation. The report focuses on ‘high risk’ trade flows to the EU, in terms of the likelihood that products were caught in contravention of applicable fisheries rules.

Contrary to previous analyses, the report shows that weaknesses in member state import controls and uneven standards could be providing a route for non-compliant products to enter the EU market.

This report focuses on one particular result from climate change – the negative impact on food security and how this factor contributed to the desperation and anger that manifested itself against the Al-Assad regime in Syria.

The Syrian war has resulted in more than 470,000 deaths. 6.6 million people have been internally displaced and nearly five million people are residing in camps in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon as well as an estimated 1.2 million seeking refuge in Europe.

Whilst the war was not solely a result of climate change, the intertwining effects of drought, rural to urban migration, and the increasing unrest due to a lack of government measures to avoid water scarcity, unemployment and growing inequality, are clear.

Der Bericht zeigt einen Ansatz, damit Erzeugnisse aus IUU-Fischerei nicht in britische Lieferketten gelangen. Er gibt sachliche Hinweise zur Einschätzung, zum Management und der Vermeidung von Risiken. Handlungsanweisungen werden erläutert, damit keine Erzeugnisse aus IUU-Fischerei in Lieferketten enden, was in vielfacher Hinsicht kostspielig sein kann.

Die Ausarbeitung und Umsetzung eines effektiven Due-Diligence-Prozesses gegen IUU-Fischerei bietet Einzelhändlern die Chance, zum globalen Kampf gegen illegale Fischerei beizutragen. Es hilft der Nachhaltigkeit und Gesundheit der globalen Fischerei und minimiert das Potenzial von Reputationsschäden und rechtlichen Risiken in den Lieferketten für Fischereierzeugnisse.