Measures to deter illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the Southern Ocean in the absence of flag state control

• Main Author: Baird, Rachel J. (Rachel Jane)
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: University of Melbourne 2005
• Subjects: Fishery law and legislation > Australia; Fishery law and legislation > Economic aspects; Fishes > Conservation; Fishery management > Australia > Planning; Fisheries > Antarctic Ocean; Antarctic Ocean; Antarctic; Southern Ocean; Antarc*
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11343/341642

Typescript Thesis (PhD) -- University of Melbourne, Melbourne Law School, 2006 Includes bibliographical references (leaves [7]-[30]) Overfishing threatens the viability of high seas living resources. Furthermore, controls to prevent overfishing are inadequate. Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing is a product of overfishing and affects all marine fisheries. Southern Ocean fisheries have been particularly targeted by IUU fishing. No scholar has fully examined the efforts of CCAMLR and Australia to adopt measures to deter IUU fishing in the Southern Ocean. The original contribution of this work lays in the author's analysis of action taken by the CCAMLR Commission and Australia. The research in Chapters 4 and 5 is original work in that no other scholar has approached the issue of IUU fishing in the Southern Ocean in this manner or to the depth demonstrated. Chapter 5 in particular stands alone as original work on Australia's efforts to deter IUU fishing. There is a paucity of published work in this area and reliance upon court decisions, governmental publications and NGO material has been necessary. My conclusions are that in the absence of flag State control, alternative measures and strategies have proved to be effective in influencing the behaviour of IUU fishing vessels. By improving coastal State surveillance, enhancing regional co-operation, imposing port and market State controls, establishing IUU vessel databases and vigorously prosecuting offenders, RFMOs and coastal States can jointly increase the risk of conducting IUU fishing activities. At the same time financial returns can be diminished so that engaging in IUU fishing becomes economically unattractive.