US Coast Guard releases new long-term strategy to combat IUU fishing

By Baird Maritime - September 23, 2020.

*Crewmembers from the US Coast Guard cutter Munro prepare to conduct a law enforcement boarding on a fishing vessel in the Central Pacific, December 2, 2018. (Photo: US Coast Guard)*

The US Coast Guard recently released a new strategy to enhance global safety, security, and stewardship of the maritime domain by combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the Pacific Ocean region.

Coast guard commandant Admiral Karl Schultz said the service’s IUU Fishing Strategic Outlook outlines efforts to combat IUU fishing over the next decade.

Under the strategy, the coast guard will help form a coalition of local, regional, and international partners in the Pacific to combat IUU fishing through enforcement of measures established by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), missions assisting partner nations with protecting their respective exclusive economic zones, and participating in joint operations to detect and deter IUU fishing on the high seas.