Fish Fraud

GONE FISHING

Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing — IUU fishing — is fishing that violates national laws or international treaties. IUU fishing constitutes a threat to the sustainability of global fishing stocks and the maintenance of marine environment. It is an economic drain that is felt by businesses and consumers. Within the entire seafood supply chain, opportunities to circumvent laws exist and, for most countries in general, the farther the point on the pathway, the harder it is to trace the source of fish and prevent IUU fishing. This diagram of the seafood supply chain, in which both legal and IUU fishing can occur, was developed by Instructor Demian Willette and students Christopher Jaime ’17, Faraaz Tamjiki ’17 and Mathew Oki ’17.

Read more about fish fraud in an interview with Demian Willette, a biology instructor in the Frank R. Seaver College of Science and Engineering, that does research that applies genetic testing to the problems of illegal fishing and species substitution here.