illegal fishing
Criminal marine harvesting
Illegal fishing is harvesting fish in violation of laws or regulations—fishing without a license, exceeding catch limits, using prohibited gear, or operating in protected waters.
The term often appears in discussions of commercial operations that deplete fish stocks or damage marine ecosystems: Illegal fishing threatens the livelihoods of coastal communities.
Also called IUU fishing (illegal, unreported, and unregulated).
- shark finningRemoving fins, discarding carcass
- bycatchNon-target species caught accidentally
- flag of convenienceForeign registration avoiding regulations
- overfishingUnsustainable marine harvest
- ghost netsAbandoned fishing equipment adrift
overexploitation · biodiversity loss · treaty violations · dynamite · habitat destruction · catch limits · transshipment · black market · shark conservation · unfair competition · enforcement · quotas · trafficking · endangered · clandestine · coastguard · sea patrol · pirate
- eco-crimeswildlife trafficking, toxic dumping, chemical dumping, ivory trade, exotic pet trade
- fishing harmoverfishing, bycatch, stock collapse, ghost nets, bottom trawling
- crimesarson, burglary, robbery, kidnapping, vandalism
- global crimehuman trafficking, drug trafficking, arms trafficking, terrorism, money laundering
- maritime crimespiracy, ship hijacking, mutiny, pirate attack, hijacking
- overfishingfish stocks, population collapse, catch limits, bycatch, trawling
illegal fishingsustainable fishing
Harvesting that preserves populations
catch-and-release · marine conservation · fish farming · aquaculture · catch-and-release fishing