Tackling illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing through port state measures

Alongside collective mismanagement, illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing practices pose a serious threat to marine species and ecosystems around the globe. Drastically reducing IUU fishing must form part of global efforts to promote more responsible and just exploitation of marine living resources. While attention on tackling IUU fishing has increased over the past two decades, progress toward its elimination remains slow, largely due to the inherently transboundary nature of IUU practices and the practical limitations of flag and coastal State jurisdiction. This article argues that port States can and should play a central role in international efforts to tackle IUU fishing. It considers the steps port States can lawfully take to remove IUU practices from global supply chains, and explores the conditions and limitations general international law, the law of the sea, and international trade law impose on various port State measures. While port State control raises significant issues of jurisdictional competence, substantive and procedural fairness, and multilateral coordination, it is shown that port State measures are both a feasible and defensible means of addressing IUU practices. By exploring the conditions that attach to the design, adoption, and implementation of port State measures, the article resolves key debates concerning their lawfulness, thus allowing policymakers, practitioners, and officials to renew their attention on developing the political will and technical capabilities necessary for such measures to play an effective and appropriate role in closing regulatory and enforcement gaps in conservation and management regimes.