International Law Enforcement Cooperation in the Fisheries Sector A Guide for Law Enforcement Practitioners February 2018 International Law Enforcement Cooperation in the Fisheries Sector: A Guide for Law Enforcement Practitioners FOREWORD Fisheries around the world have been suffering increasingly from illegal exploitation, which undermines the sustainability of marine living resources and threatens food security, as well as the economic, social and political stability of coastal states. The illegal exploitation of marine living resources includes not only fisheries crime, but also connected crimes to the fisheries sector, such as corruption, money laundering, fraud, human or drug trafficking. These crimes have been identified by INTERPOL and its partners as transnational in nature and involving organized criminal networks. Given the complexity of these crimes and the fact that they occur across the supply chains of several countries, international police cooperation and coordination between countries and agencies is absolutely essential to effectively tackle such illegal activities. As the world’s largest police organization, INTERPOL’s role is to foster international police cooperation and coordination, as well as to ensure that police around the world have access to the tools and services to effectively tackle these transnational crimes. More specifically, INTERPOL’s Environmental Security Programme (ENS) is dedicated to addressing environmental crime, such as fisheries crimes and associated crimes. Its mission is to assist our member countries in the effective enforcement of national, regional and international environmental law and treaties, creating coherent international law enforcement collaboration and enhancing investigative support of environmental crime cases. It is in this context, that ENS – Global Fisheries Enforcement team identified the need to develop a Guide to assist in the understanding of international law enforcement cooperation in the fisheries sector, especially following several transnational fisheries enforcement cases in which INTERPOL was involved. This Guide, drafted under the auspices of INTERPOL’s Office of Legal Affairs and in close collaboration with the ENS – Global Fisheries Enforcement team, aims to provide an overview of existing international, regional, and to some extent, national legal frameworks to combat fisheries and crimes associated to the fisheries sector, to present policing capabilities offered by our organization and to analyze real INTERPOL fisheries enforcement case studies. I hope that INTERPOL’s member countries will fully utilize this new tool to enhance their response to transnational fisheries crimes and crimes connected to the fisheries sector. Paul Stanfield Director, Organized and Emerging Crime TABLE OF CONTENTS INTERPOL Global Fisheries Enforcement............................................................................. 1 Executive summary ................................................................................................................... 3 Chapter 1: Understanding the need for international cooperation in the fisheries sector .... 5 1.1 Overview: offences in the fisheries sector ................................................................................. 5 1.1.1 Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing ......................................................... 5 1.1.2 Fisheries crimes ................................................................................................... 9 1.1.3 Other crimes committed in the fisheries sector .................................................. 12 1.1.4 Typology of offenders conducting illegal activities in the fisheries sector........ 14 1.2 The challenge of multiple jurisdictions ................................................................................... 16 1.2.1 The transnational nature of fisheries crimes and connected crimes ................... 16 1.2.2 Fisheries crimes as transnational organized crimes ........................................... 18 1.2.3 Stakeholders involved in international cooperation ........................................... 19 1.3 Role of INTERPOL Global Fisheries Enforcement and the multi-crime enforcement approach ....................................................................................................................................................... 25 Chapter 2: Legal framework for combatting crimes in the fisheries sector ......................... 27 2.1 Major international instruments for combatting crimes in the fisheries sector ...................... 28 2.1.1 International treaties and agreements specifically related to fisheries ............... 29 2.1.2 International treaties to counter crimes connected to the fisheries sector .......... 52 2.1.3 International treaties to counter illicit trade related to the fisheries sector ........ 71 2.2 Regional legal frameworks for combatting crimes in the fisheries sector .............................. 78 2.2.1 Regional conservation and management treaties ............................................... 78 2.2.2 Regional frameworks to combat IUU fishing .................................................... 80 2.2.3 Regional cooperative enforcement frameworks ................................................ 87 2.3 National legislation ................................................................................................................. 88 2.4 Mechanisms for international cooperation against crimes related to the fisheries sector ..... 90 2.4.1 Law enforcement cooperation ............................................................................ 90 2.4.2 Mutual legal assistance (MLA) .......................................................................... 90 2.4.3 Joint investigative teams .................................................................................... 94 2.4.4 Mutual administrative assistance (MA) among customs authorities ................. 94 2.4.5 Extradition ......................................................................................................... 95 Chapter 3: INTERPOL’s capabilities in facilitating international cooperation in the fisheries sector ......................................................................................................................... 97 3.1 Introduction: cooperation through INTERPOL ...................................................................... 97 3.2 Specific tools available for cooperation in the fisheries sector .............................................. 98 3.2.1 I-24/7 INTERPOL secure global police communication system ....................... 98 3.2.2 INTERPOL notices and diffusions .................................................................... 98 3.2.3 INTERPOL’s databases ................................................................................... 101 3.2.4 INTERPOL’s Criminal Analysis Files ............................................................ 103 3.3 Specialized teams .................................................................................................................. 104 3.3.1 Investigative Support Teams (ISTs) ................................................................ 104 3.3.2 Incident Response Teams (IRTs) ..................................................................... 104 3.3.3 INTERPOL Fisheries Crime Working Group (FCWG) .................................. 105 3.4 National Environmental Security Task Force (NEST) .......................................................... 106 3.5 Regional Investigative and Analytical Case Meetings .......................................................... 107 3.6 Capacity building and training for law enforcement ............................................................ 108 Chapter 4: Practical guide for law enforcement practitioners enforcing fisheries-related crimes ..................................................................................................................................... 109 4.1 Processes for requesting international cooperation in IUU fishing and fisheries crimes .... 109 Phase 1: Initiation of a case ...................................................................................... 111 Phase 2: Investigation, analysis and exchange of information ................................. 112 Phase 3: Case adjudication and enforcement ............................................................ 113 4.2 Case studies ........................................................................................................................... 117 Executive summary ................................................................................................... 117 Case study 1 ................................................................................................................................ 118 1. Factual overview ................................................................................................... 118 2. Discussion and recommendations ......................................................................... 122 Case study 2 ................................................................................................................................ 127 1. Factual overview ................................................................................................... 127 2. Discussion and recommendations ......................................................................... 131 Note on additional INTERPOL capabilities...............................................................................