Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing describes any fishing activity that occurs outside the boundaries of agreed legal or customary practices in fisheries. The definition of IUU fishing may be distilled into the following brief description:

Illegal: Fishing without a license or permit, or in violation of the laws of the jurisdiction an entity is operating within.

Unreported: Misreporting or failing to report any information required to be submitted under the laws of the jurisdiction an entity is operating within.

Unregulated: Fishing for fish, or in areas that do not have existing laws in place and in a way inconsistent with international obligations, or in a high seas area without an authorised flag.


Such practices jeopardise legitimate fishing activities and livelihoods, as well as overall food and economic security.

Markets and institutions around the world are looking for ways to ensure that they support fishers and companies engaged in responsible fishing practices, while avoiding those who might engage in IUU fishing. This approach, however, relies on the availability of information to assess whether responsible fishing guidelines are in place, and being enforced.

• How might we leverage common handheld devices like smartphones to enable transparent and proactive data sharing about responsible and / or irresponsible fishing practices?

• How might we identify and incentivise fishers and companies that voluntarily and consistently provide data demonstrating that they follow the rules?