Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing represents over 20% of global catch, with losses to the global economy estimated at $10-23.5 billion USD per year. Current practices for assessing IUU fishing risks in seafood supply chains are typically resource-intensive and often lack the vessel-level data and analytical power needed to monitor and meet industry sustainability commitments. The results of these assessments are often limited and do not provide impactful, actionable insights for companies.

The Supply Chain Risk Project (SCRP) aims to enable actionable due diligence through aggregation and automation of multiple data sources. It seeks to provide critical vessel-level information to inform companies’ risk assessment processes that can easily integrate into existing workflows.

The SCRP has been approached in a user-driven way. We first sought to understand key stakeholders’ data capabilities and needs and assess the landscape of available data and analyses for supply chain managers. This work allowed us to develop robust databases and analytical capabilities to be used by companies to effectively identify and action IUU fishing risks.

Through pilot projects, we then tested how data can be delivered to companies and acted upon, based on identified risks or information gaps in their supply chains. The findings from the pilot projects demonstrate that regardless of species, gear, or geographic region, for all supply chains, it is critical for companies to know their vessels in order to effectively assess the risk of IUU fishing in their supply chains.

Transparency requires collaboration between companies and governments in collecting and publicly sharing supply chain data. These public-private partnerships will further strengthen governments’ and companies’ ability to fight IUU fishing, and facilitate user uptake and feedback to support technology development and data integration capabilities. A key focus going forward for us is to encourage coordinated actions between governments and industry to collect, share, and act on vessel-level data (e.g., tracking data, licenses, authorization information), highlighting the value of transparent supply chain data and driving increased data liberation for stronger risk assessments against IUU fishing.

Are you interested in using the outcomes of the SCRP in your own work?

■ Global Fishing Watch’s Vessel Viewer is a public tool that incorporates the insights gained from SCRP. You can use Vessel Viewer to highlight potential risks and more effectively combat IUU fishing in your own supply chains.

■ FishWise, leveraging the Vessel Viewer and other databases, developed a Vessel Risk Dashboard service for companies interested in actioning vessel-level information as part of a due diligence process to strategically address IUU fishing risks and support direct supply chain engagement.

To learn more about ways to engage, please reach out to Nina Rosen (n.rosen@fishwise.org) at FishWise or Global Fishing Watch.

1. Assessing Seafood Supply Chains: New Public-Private Partnership Will Support Companies in Assessing IUU Fishing Risks Using Vessel Data, and Summary, April 2022

>>> Highlights needs and challenges of existing due diligence processes and the results of an analysis comparing International Seafood Sustainability Foundation ProActive Vessel Register with Global Fishing Watch data from AIS transmissions.

2. Supply Chain Risk Project Phase 2 Final Report and Technical Glossary and Methodology Document, June 2023

>>> Results of risk assessments using key data elements shared by companies to test the ability to identify risk in supply chains.

3. Shared Data, Shared Goals: A Review of APEC and Metacoalition Engagement with FAO Data-sharing Platforms, November 2024

>>> Highlights gaps and opportunities for collaboration on global data sharing platforms between the public and private sectors.

4. Prioritizing Transparency: Companies’ Insights and Needs to Effectively Combat IUU Fishing, March 2024

>>> Highlights the role seafood companies Culimer USA, Culinary Collaborations LLC, and Coptoirs Océaniques play in addressing IUU fishing while recognizing the clear connection between increased government data transparency and the benefits of risk assessment processes.