How to End Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing
Fishing techniques that are banned or restricted are still being used — but this community-based approach shows things can turn around.
Imagine arriving at the stunning seaside of Mozambique, only to witness the heartbreaking sight of damaged coral reefs, dwindling marine life, and polluted waters. These are the normal struggles faced in this corner of the planet, where the goal to preserve marine ecosystems often clashes with threats from illegal fishing and insufficient enforcement. To make these struggles easier to follow, let’s give them their official name: “Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing” (aka IUU). This is precisely what Dots.eco partner Love The Oceans, an NGO endorsed by Dr Sylvia Earle, encountered in Jangamo Bay, Mozambique, and felt compelled to take action on.
Dots.eco is an environmental rewards platform creating real-world eco-impact. This means people can plant trees while playing games, save sea turtles when downloading an app, or restore coral reefs when celebrating a company anniversary, among many others. We are proud to be a certified B-Corp and partners of the UN Decade for Ecosystem Restoration. We have a team of environmental scientists who research internally, and the best environmental partners do the work on the ground.
And one of the biggest issues we face on the ground — well, out at sea — is Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing (IUU).
What does IUU fishing do?
IUU fishing occurs both on the high seas and in areas within national jurisdiction and can come in all shapes and sorts. It captures all aspects and stages of fisheries and it can be related to many different scales of fishing, from lone artisanal fishermen to industrial fishing vessels. It usually means fishing in off-limits areas or using problematic gear that causes huge negative effects on aquatic ecosystems but it is not only limited to that.
For example, catching fish in nursery territories — like estuaries and mangrove forests — can compromise fish populations by removing entire generations from the genetic pool, making it so that the local population can no longer perpetuate itself. Gillnets can capture organisms that are legally protected since they basically consist of a wall made of a fishing net with no selectivity or adaptations to allow key species to split through. Bottom trawlers, usually deployed in industrial fishing drag weighted nets across the ocean floor, destroying several seabed habitats which, contrary to popular belief, are very far from being like a desert and are actually quite biodiverse!
How does IUU affect other marine species apart from fish?
Sea turtles are migratory animals. They cross oceans to forage, breed, and escape winter temperatures since they can’t keep themselves warm and their metabolism going like us, warm-blooded humans. The problem is that the trip is not easy, and IUU fishing can make it even harder in several aspects. IUU fishing can directly impact sea turtle populations by simply fishing them out as bycatch. This is one of the most critical impacts of IUU fishing on sea turtles. Certain types of fishing gear that are banned or restricted because they are known to be particularly harmful to sea turtles are still used by IUU fishermen. For example, gillnets and longlines can be especially deadly to turtles if not managed or modified correctly. That gear captures not only the targeted fish but also unintentionally catches sea turtles.
Habitat destruction is another prominent negative effect of IUU fishing on sea turtles. Many IUU fishermen use blast fishing to catch fish in shallow waters. That means using explosives to stun or kill the fish, which once numb float up to the surface and can be easily caught by hand. It has caused the destruction of many coral reefs as it is an artisanal fishing technique that has been recently banned in many countries around the globe but is not quite gone. Coral reefs are an important habitat not just for fish and anemones, but also for juvenile turtles. They spend their development time around reefs since their structure offers physical protection and harbors many organisms that serve as food.
The Role of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) serve as a critical tool in the fight against Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing by establishing designated oceanic zones where fishing activities are either restricted or entirely prohibited. These protected zones not only help conserve marine biodiversity but also provide a manageable framework for enforcing fishing regulations. By restricting access and carefully monitoring these areas, authorities can more effectively control fishing activities, making it easier to identify and take action against IUU fishing operations. The presence of MPAs can act as a deterrent to illegal fishers, who may avoid these well-monitored areas in favor of less regulated waters.
MPAs support the recovery and sustainability of fish stocks by protecting critical habitats and breeding grounds, which can be severely impacted by IUU fishing. This regeneration of marine ecosystems can lead to spillover benefits, where increased fish populations within MPAs extend into adjacent fishing areas, supporting local and commercial fisheries.
Jangamo Bay: MPAs in action
Our funding is now helping protect 83km² of marine and coastal habitats in Jangamo Bay, Mozambique, a vibrant bay with coral reefs and crucial hotspot for whale sharks and sea turtles during nesting.
The work done from the ground is not easy and rather extensive, but the results are incredible! As a starting point, most of the team doing the impact are local communities in Mozambique, bringing in social sustainability to the mix. We work with active fishermen running workshops on sustainable fishing and educate the next generation of fishermen by teaching Marine Resource Management and Sea Safety at two local schools; Guinjata and Paindane School. Equipped with the right tools and knowledge our communities are enabled to successfully transition towards sustainable fishing, ending IUU fishing and establishing a MPAs. We launched the first ever turtle patrol team, made completely of local community members. Patrols run every night locating and securing new nests. Patrols appoint 24hr guards for each nest. We even taught over 3000 school childen to swim.
In 2023 only, the organization managed to clock a whopping 800+ hrs of fisheries surveys, completed 500+ hours of megafauna and apex predator surveys, monitorored 450+ hard coral colonies and discovered 3 new coral diseases in the area, over 200 hatchlings made it to the ocean, and their Trash 2 Trade Initiative, removing over 200kg from the beach and creating new upcycled items. Check their impact report here.
By involving local communities in the management and benefits of MPAs, these areas can promote greater compliance and participation in sustainable fishing practices, creating allies in the fight against IUU fishing. In essence, MPAs not only shield marine life from direct exploitation but also foster a healthier, more resilient marine environment that undercuts the economic incentive behind IUU fishing. As seen with Jagamo Bay, protecting marine area is no easy task, but incredibly rewarding when a big group of determined people join forced to work together towards the same cause: our big blue dot.
If you’d like to know more about the MPAs, hop on over to our partner’s website, Love The Oceans. They have tons of materials on all of the activities and benefits these MPAs provide.
