Zhejiang Ocean Family Co Ltd and its fishy business: The Zhejiang Ocean Family Co., Ltd. (大洋世家(浙江)股份公司 / ZOF) is a leading fishery company in Chinese and global seafood supply chains. This investigation found that 12 vessels owned or chartered by ZOF or a ZOF subsidiary were systematically engaged in different forms of IUU fishing such as shark finning, intentionally killing cetaceans. Vessels were also implicated in a number of human rights abuses including physical abuse, salary deductions, human trafficking and forced labour.
Communities for Fisheries project update - July-December 2023: The EU-funded Communities for Fisheries project aims to create skilled, capable and effective community co-management associations (CMAs) to secure legal and sustainable fisheries in Liberia. This brief summarises the progress made under the project from July to December of 2023.
Securing effective and transparent prosecutions of fisheries violations in Ghana: Recommendations for the reform of the fisheries law framework: This briefing analyses the key gaps and weaknesses in Ghana’s current prosecution system for fisheries violations, both in terms of the legal framework and in terms of practical implementation, and provides recommendations for addressing these issues, considering the ongoing reform of the national fisheries law framework.
Leaving No One Behind: A community-based analysis of gender inclusion and economic vulnerability in Liberia’s small-scale fisheries: This report documents gender issues in the fisheries sector in Liberia and reveals that strategies to advance women's status in small-scale fisheries are still a key development issue. It also shows that marginalised and economically vulnerable groups in Liberia's fishing communities are being excluded from crucial decision-making processes.
Thailand’s progress in combatting IUU, forced labour & human trafficking: EJF observations and recommendations volume 10, 2023: Since February 2016, EJF has carried out multiple in-depth observations of the Royal Thai Government’s (RTG) initiatives aimed at tackling IUU fishing and human trafficking in the Thai fishing industry. This version is the 10th edition of this technical report. It represents the culmination of eight years worth of experience working directly with the Thai authorities as well as conducting independent field assessments of Thailand’s monitoring, control and surveillance mechanisms.
Technical Briefing for Korea’s implementation of the PSMA: The Food and Agriculture Organization’s Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA) is the first binding international agreement that specifically targets illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The Republic of Korea ratified the PSMA in 2016 – however, EJF’s observation and monitoring has found that the implementation of the PSMA requires significant improvement.
Lettre ouverte adressée au Ministre des Pêches et de l’Économie maritime (MPEM) du Sénégal - Problématique du chalutage de fond au Sénégal: Nous souhaitons attirer l'attention sur la crise des ressources halieutiques que traverse le Sénégal en raison notamment des pratiques de pêche destructrices de l'environnement, non durables et souvent illégales pratiquées par la flotte chalutière du pays.
Open-letter to Senegal's Minister of Fisheries and Maritime Economy (MPEM) - The issue of bottom trawling in Senegal: To draw attention to the crisis in Senegal’s fisheries sector caused by the environmentally destructive, unsustainable, and often illegal fishing practices of the country's trawler fleet. Immediate and strong action is needed to mitigate the environmental and socio-economic impacts of this fishing activity, to protect the livelihoods and food security of artisanal fishing communities.
Policy brief : The legal case for an effective GFCM compliance mechanism: The legal analysis by Professor Tullio Scovazzi and Professor Simone Vezzani of the GFCM’s legal framework, applicable international law, and existing compliance regimes of other Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) indicates that the reasons for this gap are of a political, not legal, nature.