Update to the fishing port-based IUU fishing risk assessment Global

Pew Charitable Trusts - Project Dates:
June 2021 - December 2021

Description of Project:
This study analysed the updated 2020 global AIS-based fishing vessel port entry dataset, already covered in a 2019 assessment, then based on the 2017 dataset. Next to ranking ports globally by importance, the objectives were to assess evolving port State risk and the performance of port States considering the Agreement on Port State Measures, 2009, globally, and to identify progress over the intervening three-year period. The study used a set of 16 indicators to determine the internal and external risk of port States becoming exposed to IUU fishing transactions.

Services Provided:

The study, conducted with the Global Fishing Watch (GFW) and Trygg Matt Tracking (TMT), found that port rankings have undergone shifts attributed to ongoing AIS adoption, differential development of port State business, and disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Less than 2% of global port calls were made by foreign vessels. Europe as a region received the highest number of foreign vessels into its ports, accounting for 49.9% of all foreign port calls globally. The highest portion of vessel calls into foreign ports (25.6%) were made by vessels hailing from the Latin America and the Caribbean region. Globally, and over the 3-year period, internal port State risk has dropped by 1.83%, and external risk has increased by 0.96%, the former driven almost entirely by PSMA-signatory States, and the latter almost entirely by PSMA non-signatory States – with higher-risk fleets now clearly being displaced to PSMA non-signatory port States. These findings underline the measurable impact and transformational nature of the Agreement.