The OECD is strengthening efforts to combat illegal fishing with the adoption of a new Recommendation on Eliminating Government Support to Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing. This legal instrument provides practical policy guidance for governments to ensure no public money supports illegal fishing.
While no government deliberately funds IUU fishing, strong measures are needed to prevent public resources from unintentionally ending up in the hands of unscrupulous actors. The OECD Recommendation therefore calls on Adherents to develop and implement a range of policy measures to reduce the risk that support benefits IUU fishing and to withdraw public money if it does.
The Recommendation also provides guidance for governments seeking to implement some of the key disciplines of the 2022 World Trade Organization Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, and invites the OECD Fisheries Committee to periodically review progress. This new legal instrument is expected to help shape discussions on this critical issue at the third UN Ocean Conference in Nice in June.
Eliminating IUU fishing is a top priority for global fisheries, as it threatens food security, undermines fishers’ livelihood, damages the marine environment and creates unfair competition in markets. The OECD Recommendation will support governments in taking stronger action against IUU fishing.
Read the full Recommendation here.
For more information on OECD work on fisheries and aquaculture, visit https://www.oecd.org/en/topics/policy-issues/fisheries-and-aquaculture.html
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