Understanding the types and magnitude of IUU fishing is a critical first step to combatting it.
IUU fishing is a persistent and pervasive problem that undermines effective fisheries management and runs counter to sustainable fisheries. Understanding the types and magnitude of IUU fishing is a critical first step to combating it. This helps countries to be aware of the economic, environmental and social impacts of the problem, to draw attention to it, and to encourage the political will needed to fight it. Quantifying IUU fishing is not an easy task, due to the quality and quantity of existing data which vary significantly from fishery to fishery . In some cases, it can be very difficult to make precise estimates that can be compared over time. The most frequently quoted estimates of IUU fishing are based on a paper published in 2009. Following this publication, FAO commissioned a review of IUU fishing studies, in order to compare their strengths and methodologies, and to determine whether FAO should work to provide guidance for the future estimation of IUU fishing. The thirty-...