Characterizing IUU fishing as a “serious crime” shifts the focus from the
ecological emphasis on overfishing to an emphasis on the transnational crime
that is in part driving the current overfishing crisis. It is not simply a question
of semantics, but of tapping into already existing political and financial
commitments by states to protect states from transnational criminal activities.
Our existing environmental protection networks have failed to effectively
combat IUU fishing networks because they are underfunded and lack
coordination among responsible government actors. In spite of these public
governance challenges, we must not be resigned to a future of collapsing
marine fish stocks. Given the recent international spotlight on wildlife crime by
Interpol and the London Declaration, political will is finally emerging to
strengthen the criminal penalties for IUU fishing and alleviate some of the
ongoing plunder of the seas.309