Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing typically means fishing without a license, fishing in a closed area, fishing with prohibited gear, fishing over a quota or fishing of endangered, or protected species. It is a major contributor to global overfishing. Illegal fishing leads to destruction of marine ecosystems, food security and regional stability risk, and links to major human rights violations and even organized crime.
The global supply chain is complicated and weakly managed, allowing illegal fish to easily penetrate the supply chains. Once intermingled, illegal products are very difficult to detect, and It happens everywhere, especially in poorly developed areas where fishery management is not well maintained, or where there are limited resources to oversee their waters or enforce regulations. West Africa and the Western Central Pacific are assessed as having the highest rates of illegal fishing, followed by the Bering Sea and the Southwest Atlantic.