Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing is a harmful fishing practice that weakens fisheries management, harms ocean fish stocks, and costs the global economy more than USD$20 billion annually. It has also been linked with drug and people-trafficking as well as labour and human rights abuses. Ultimately, it contributes to increased ocean risk by damaging the long-term sustainability of ocean fish stocks and biodiversity, potentially threatening whole ecosystems and the communities that rely on them.
The insurance industry can be an important partner in reducing IUU fishing, alongside the work that governments and other stakeholders are undertaking to detect, prevent and enforce measures against it. By preventing access to insurance for vessels engaged in, or supporting, IUU fishing, the economic incentives can shift away from engaging in this illicit activity.
On top of ensuring the health and sustainability of the ocean, there is also a clear business case for insurers to avoid taking on clients that are engaged in such activities. IUU fishing vessels are more likely to engage in other risky behaviour that could result in increased or fraudulent claims, and IUU fishing also exposes insurers to legal liabilities related to national, regional, or international rules, which target entities, including insurers, that are viewed as supporting IUU fishing.
In 2017, AXA signed the Oceana and UNEP FI Insurance Industry Statement Against IUU Fishing. Over the past 12 months, AXA XL has been working with project partners through the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance, including Oceana, Ocean Unite, Global Fishing Watch, and Trygg Mat Tracking to help improve the evaluation of vessels we insure to include criteria on IUU fishing.
As part of this work, AXA XL has added checks on IUU fishing to its Marine Underwriting Rules and Guidelines, including checking vessel information against IUU fishing lists, such as the Combined IUU List developed by Trygg Mat Tracking. This List combines all IUU vessel lists from Regional Fisheries Management Organizations. The new guidelines also require underwriters to assess whether fishing vessels have the appropriate licences and do not have periods where their AIS vessel tracking systems are turned off.
In addition to this, AXA XL now requires International Maritime Organization (IMO) numbers for all fishing vessels and refrigerated cargo vessels that it insures. IMO numbers are unique identifiers for ships that do not change even if a vessel’s name or ownership changes. One common characteristic of IUU fishing vessels is frequent changes to vessel name, flag, or ownership, which helps these vessels to avoid detection. IMO numbers are an important tool for improving monitoring and tracking of vessels engaged in IUU fishing. By requiring IMO numbers, insurance companies can help increase the transparency in the fishing sector as well as increasing transparency with clients.
These additional measures will help improve our due diligence when assessing fishing vessels and fishing support vessels that we are looking to insure, making it more difficult for IUU fishing vessels to find insurance. Ultimately, this makes it more costly for these vessels to operate, which provides another mechanism to apply pressure that will, we hope, result in fewer vessels engaging in this illicit and harmful activity. By reducing the number of vessels able to fish illegally, we can contribute to the more sustainable use of the ocean, its ecosystems and its resources, which is key to a healthy future for our planet.
Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing is a harmful fishing practice that weakens fisheries management, harms ocean fish stocks, and costs the global economy more than USD$20 billion annually.
Companies that provide services to fishing vessels have the power to keep illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) vessels at port and inoperable, stopping their illicit activities.
