Illegal fishing continues to infiltrate European markets, driven by weak import controls, opaque ownership structures, and loopholes in port inspections.
A recent study commissioned by Oceana reveals that the EU’s long-distance fleet is more than twice as large as officially reported when foreign-flagged vessels owned by EU companies are included.
But experts warn that climate change is compounding the problem, creating new pressures on fish stocks and pushing illegal operators deeper into the shadows.
Warming seas and shifting fish populations are making once-abundant species harder to find in traditional fishing grounds. This fuels competition, driving some operators to cut corners or deliberately bypass rules.
“Climate change reduces availability in certain areas, and when demand stays high, illegal fishing fills the gap,” said one investigator.
Weakened stocks also make it easier for fishers to launder catches. When species decline due to warming waters, it becomes harder for authorities to distinguish between legally caught and illegally sourced fish, especially when imports rely on paper-based catch certificates that are easy to forge.
At major landing sites, like Palermo in Italy, investigators uncovered networks of intermediaries and “fishlanders” mixing illegal and legal catches.
“It’s like a fish laundry, once mixed, you cannot tell which fish is legal and which is not,” one source explained.
Transforming and processing plants add another layer of opacity, where forged certificates enable illegally caught fish to be exported to the EU undetected.
Industrial vessels are supposed to carry AIS satellite trackers, but many disappear from platforms such as MarineTraffic or Global Fishing Watch. Climate-driven changes in fish distribution mean fleets travel further and stay at sea longer, sometimes transferring catches to container ships offshore to avoid scrutiny.
Meanwhile, powerful artisanal vessels, such as those seen in Tunisia, remain invisible to tracking systems despite operating with industrial-scale engines.
Ownership remains one of the weakest points of oversight. Many vessels are linked to shell companies in tax havens, making accountability nearly impossible. In Malta, authorities uncovered a “company” that turned out to be little more than a postbox, shielding Russian owners behind layers of intermediaries.
A global review of 19,000 large vessels found that 62% had no ownership records in leading databases. Spain, France, China, and Taiwan, all major fleets, were among the worst performers.
The EU’s footprint is even larger than reported: more than 344 EU-owned vessels are flagged in 43 non-EU countries, from Panama to Senegal. Spain, the Netherlands, and Italy dominate these offshore registrations.
In some cases, one in four vessels is flagged to countries with poor fisheries governance, flagged as tax havens, or already warned by the EU. This undermines both EU rules and global fisheries agreements.
As rising sea temperatures and acidification drive species into new waters, weak governance and opaque ownership will continue to enable illegal actors to profit. Without strong digital certification systems, transparent ownership registries, and stricter port inspections, climate change will only widen the gap between demand and legal supply.
“If we don’t know who owns the vessels, where the fish really comes from, or how it gets to our plates, illegal fishing will continue to thrive, and climate change makes the problem even worse.”
Source: Apexnewsgh.com
Email: apexnewsgh@gmail.com
