Table 1: Post-UNCED International Instruments
Instrument |
In Force |
Legal Status |
Signature/Ratification[312] |
1982 Convention |
16 November 1994 |
Binding |
157S |
1993 FAO Compliance Agreement |
Not in Force |
Binding |
22 of 25 required acceptances |
1995 UN Fish Stocks Agreement |
11 December 2001 |
Binding |
59S |
1995 FAO Code of Conduct |
Voluntary |
Non-Binding |
|
2001 FAO International Plan of Action on IUU Fishing |
Voluntary |
Non-Binding |
|
Table 2: Key Flag State Responsibilities in International Instruments
Provision in five agreements |
Instrument |
Reference |
Maintain a register or record of fishing vessels |
UN Fish Stocks Agreement 1982 Convention Compliance Agreement Code of Conduct IPOA-IUU |
18.3(c) 94.2(a) IV 8.2.1 42 |
Provisions in four agreements |
Instrument |
Reference |
Ensure that vessels do not undermine effectiveness of conservation and management measures. |
UN Fish Stocks Agreement Compliance Agreement Code of Conduct IPOA-IUU |
18.1 III.1(a) 6.11 34, 48 |
Authorize vessels for fishing where it is able to exercise effective flag State control to ensure proper application of international instruments |
UN Fish Stocks Agreement Compliance Agreement Code of Conduct IPOA-IUU |
18.2 III.3 6.11 35, 44 |
Cooperation among States to ensure compliance with and enforcement of conservation and management measures. |
UN Fish Stocks Agreement 1982 Convention Compliance Agreement Code of Conduct |
20.1 118 V.1 6.12, 7.1.3 |
Provisions in three agreements |
Instrument |
Reference |
Ensure that vessels comply with subregional and regional conservation and management measures. |
UN Fish Stocks Agreement 1982 Convention Code of Conduct |
18.1 117 6.10 |
Licensing or authorizations to fish required |
UN Fish Stocks Agreement Code of Conduct IPOA-IUU |
18.3(a) 8.1.1, 8.2.2 45 |
Marking fishing vessels and fishing gear |
UN Fish Stocks Agreement Compliance Agreement Code of Conduct |
18.3(d) III.6 8.2.3, 8.2.4 |
Recoding and reporting of fisheries data |
UN Fish Stocks Agreement Compliance Agreement Code of Conduct |
18.3(e) III.7 6.11, 8.1.3 |
Enforcement measure to include sanctions of sufficient severity to secure compliance and discourage violations, deprive offenders of benefits accruing from illegal activities and may permit refusal, withdrawal or suspension of fishing authorizations if appropriate. |
UN Fish Stocks Agreement Compliance Agreement Code of Conduct |
19.2 III.8 8.2.7 |
Establish effective mechanisms for monitoring, surveillance, control and enforcement to ensure compliance with conservation and management measures |
UN Fish Stocks Agreement Code of Conduct IPOA-IUU |
18.3(g) 7.1.7, 7.7.3, 8.1.4 51 |
Provisions in two agreements |
Instrument |
Reference |
Restrictions on reflagging vessels |
Compliance Agreement IPOA-IUU |
III.5 36, 38, 39 |
Adopt laws, regulations or policies re fisheries management on high seas or in zones of other States |
UN Fish Stocks Code of Conduct |
18.3(b) 6.13, 7.7.1 |
Table 3: Registration revenue received by some open registry States from fishing and merchant vessels.[313]
State |
Fishing Vessels |
All Vessels |
Gross Revenue |
Gross Revenue |
Fishing Revenue as |
Antigua and Barbuda |
1 |
556 |
1,696,600 |
2,200 |
0.13 |
Bahamas |
6 |
1284 |
4,424,100 |
13,200 |
0.3 |
Barbados |
5 |
77 |
229,400 |
11,000 |
4.8 |
Belize |
211 |
1124 |
2,840,300 |
498,700 |
17.56 |
Bermuda |
2 |
148 |
535,400 |
4,400 |
0.82 |
Cayman Islands |
2 |
141 |
412,200 |
4,400 |
1.07 |
Channel Islands |
7 |
29 |
63,800 |
15,400 |
24.14 |
Cyprus |
35 |
1625 |
5,661,800 |
95,600 |
1.69 |
Equatorial Guinea |
55 |
73 |
163,000 |
121,000 |
74.23 |
Gibraltar |
0 |
28 |
79,900 |
0 |
0 |
Honduras |
486 |
1462 |
3,400,900 |
1,075,800 |
31.63 |
China, Hong Kong, SAR |
0 |
392 |
1,163,300 |
0 |
0 |
Isle of Man |
1 |
221 |
730,700 |
2,200 |
0.3 |
Liberia |
2 |
1736 |
6,473,300 |
5,000 |
0.08 |
Malta |
9 |
1418 |
4,991,900 |
23,400 |
0.47 |
Marshall Islands |
11 |
200 |
657,200 |
30,200 |
4.6 |
Netherlands Antilles |
14 |
137 |
423,200 |
35,000 |
8.27 |
Panama |
321 |
6155 |
19,918,700 |
732,900 |
3.68 |
Singapore |
4 |
1683 |
4,923,600 |
8,800 |
0.18 |
St Vincent |
130 |
1341 |
3,945,300 |
317,800 |
8.06 |
Vanuatu |
33 |
287 |
782,000 |
86,100 |
11.01 |
Total |
1335 |
20117 |
63,516,600 |
3,083,100 |
4.85 |
Table 4: Benefits Advertised to Shipowners of Registering in some Open Registry States.[314]
Registration advantage |
Antigua and Barbuda |
Belize |
Cambodia |
Cayman Islands |
Costa Rica |
Honduras |
Malta |
Marshall Islands |
Neth. Antilles |
Panama |
St. Vincent |
Limited or no vessel restrictions (age, class, size, type) |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
|
|
Y |
Y |
Exemptions |
Y |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Y |
Favourable Tax |
Y |
|
Y |
Y |
Y |
|
Y |
|
Y |
|
|
Low registration & administration fees |
|
|
Y |
Y |
|
|
Y |
|
Y |
Y |
|
No, or easy to meet, nationality requirements |
|
Y |
Y |
|
|
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Quick & efficient registration procedure |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
|
Y |
|
Y |
Y |
|
|
Flexible manning requirements |
|
|
|
|
Y |
Y |
Y |
|
|
|
Y |
Bareboat charter registration |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Y |
Y |
|
Y |
|
Table 5: Number of Fishing Vessels, Fishing Vessels as percent of all Vessels on some Open Registers for 1997 and 2001. [315]
State |
1997 |
2001 |
||
|
# Fishing Vessels |
Fishing vessels as % of all vessels |
# Fishing Vessels |
Fishing vessels as % of all vessels |
Honduras |
423 |
33.2 |
396 |
33.5 |
Panama |
422 |
5.2 |
229 |
3.7 |
Belize |
145 |
18.8 |
481 |
31.7 |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
130 |
9.7 |
165 |
12.5 |
Eq. Guinea |
55 |
75.3 |
51 |
85.0 |
Cyprus |
35 |
2.2 |
61 |
4.3 |
Vanuatu |
27 |
11.5 |
55 |
17.4 |
Neth Antilles |
14 |
10.2 |
24 |
13.6 |
Marshall Islands |
11 |
5.5 |
10 |
2.8 |
Malta |
9 |
0.6 |
8 |
0.6 |
Channel Islands |
7 |
24.1 |
3 |
42.9 |
Bahamas |
6 |
0.5 |
6 |
0.5 |
Barbados |
5 |
6.5 |
5 |
7.4 |
Singapore |
4 |
0.2 |
4 |
0.2 |
Liberia |
2 |
0.1 |
4 |
0.3 |
Bermuda |
2 |
1.4 |
1 |
0.8 |
Isle of Man |
1 |
0.5 |
1 |
0.4 |
Antigua & Barbuda |
1 |
0.2 |
1 |
0.1 |
China, Hong Kong, SAR |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0.2 |
Gibraltar |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1.3 |
Total |
1299 |
|
1507 |
|
Table 6: Tonnage Range of Fishing Vessels under some Open Registers.[316]
Size Range (GRT) |
100-149 |
150-199 |
200-299 |
300-499 |
499-1000 |
1000-1500 |
1500-4000 |
4000-10000 |
10000-30000 |
> 30000 |
Panama |
66 |
42 |
62 |
63 |
48 |
12 |
25 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
Honduras |
140 |
36 |
79 |
128 |
92 |
2 |
9 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Belize |
33 |
23 |
41 |
30 |
37 |
10 |
30 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
St. Vincent |
49 |
11 |
18 |
8 |
12 |
3 |
15 |
14 |
0 |
0 |
Vanuatu |
3 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
9 |
11 |
4 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
Marshall Islands |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
9 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Liberia |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Total |
292 |
113 |
201 |
231 |
198 |
39 |
93 |
27 |
0 |
0 |
Table 7: Tonnage Range of All Vessels under some Open Registers.[317]
Size Range (GRT) |
100-149 |
150-199 |
200-299 |
300-499 |
499-1000 |
1000-1500 |
1500-4000 |
4000-10000 |
10000-30000 |
> 30000 |
Panama |
156 |
210 |
262 |
405 |
375 |
246 |
925 |
1245 |
1294 |
1037 |
Honduras |
191 |
149 |
168 |
416 |
274 |
110 |
125 |
25 |
4 |
0 |
Belize |
65 |
96 |
105 |
184 |
223 |
125 |
219 |
67 |
38 |
2 |
St. Vincent |
71 |
36 |
92 |
75 |
155 |
125 |
302 |
250 |
197 |
38 |
Vanuatu |
15 |
4 |
24 |
13 |
89 |
52 |
22 |
20 |
34 |
14 |
Marshall Islands |
7 |
3 |
6 |
7 |
27 |
7 |
27 |
6 |
34 |
76 |
Liberia |
2 |
3 |
6 |
3 |
26 |
32 |
71 |
218 |
699 |
676 |
Total |
507 |
501 |
663 |
1103 |
1169 |
697 |
1691 |
1831 |
2300 |
1843 |
Table 8: Summary of Responses to Questionnaire by Belize, Cook Islands, Malta and Vanuatu
Question |
Belize |
Cook Islands |
Malta |
Vanuatu |
No. of fishing vessels on register[318] |
402 |
6 |
88 |
122 |
Agency |
International Merchant Marine of Belize |
Cook Islands Maritime & Shipping Registry Limited (CIMSRL) |
Malta Maritime Authority |
Vanuatu Maritime Services Ltd. |
Legislation |
Registration of Merchant Ships |
Shipping Act 1989, as amended |
Merchant Shipping Act |
Maritime Act |
Application Process |
Yes[319] |
Yes[320] |
Yes[321] |
Yes[322] |
Any restrictions? |
Age of Vessel Vessel must be wholly owned by Maltese citizens or Maltese bodies corporate[323] |
Age of vessel and classification society requirements |
Age of Vessel |
Age of vessel Ownership Vessel [324] Vessel must be safe and seaworthy |
Special requirements for Fishing Vessels |
Complete a fishing vessel data form as part of application process |
No |
Must be licensed to fish prior to registration; only vessels 6 metres and over must be registered |
No |
Deregistration for non-compliance |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Types of Fishing Vessels Registered |
Fishing vessels, fish factory and fish freezer vessels |
High seas factory trawlers, coastal trawlers, surface longliners |
Mostly small artisanal fishing vessels |
Longliners, purse seiners, shrimpers, crabbers, factory trawlers/processors and research vessels |
Table 9: Estimated Unreported Catch as a Percentage of Estimated Total Catch in the CCAMLR Convention Area.[325]
|
Subarea or Division |
||||
Years |
Subarea 58.6 |
Subarea 58.7 |
Division 58.5.1 |
Division 58.5.2 |
Subarea 48.3 |
1996/97 |
98 |
84 |
30 |
90 |
0 |
1997/98 |
91 |
62 |
71 |
74 |
0 |
1998/99 |
49 |
41 |
10 |
3 |
7 |
1999/00 |
74 |
23 |
30 |
24 |
8 |
2000/01 |
31 |
17 |
39 |
48 |
8 |
Table 10: Summary of Offences by Belize Flagged Vessels
State |
Offence |
Type of Vessel |
Location |
Action Taken |
Belize |
Non-compliance with fishing regulations (IATTC) |
Fishing Vessel Dec 10, 1997 |
N/A |
Deregistration |
Belize |
Non-compliance with fishing regulations (IATTC) |
Fishing Vessel Dec 10, 1997 |
N/A |
Deregistration |
Belize |
Non-compliance with fishing regulations (IATTC) |
Fishing Vessel Dec 10, 1997 |
N/A |
Deregistration |
Belize |
Illegally fishing protected toothfish |
Fishing |
Australias EEZ |
$50,000 fine |
Belize |
Illegally fishing protected toothfish |
Fishing February 8, 1999 |
Mauritius |
$30,000 fine followed by deregistration |
Belize |
Violation of fishing regulations in EEZ Kerguelen |
Fishing |
French territories of Australia and Antarctica |
Deregistration |
Belize |
Repeated violations of fishing regulations |
Fishing |
France |
Seized by French authorities, deregistered |
Belize |
Violation of fishing regulations in protected area |
Fishing |
7 nm outside Australia EEZ |
$15,000 fine, subsequent suspension and deregistration |
Belize |
Longline fishing for tuna in violation of ICCAT regulations |
Fishing |
780 nm west of Luanda, Angola |
$20,000 fine, reduced to $10,000 and vessel deregistered |
Belize |
Violation of ICCAT regulations |
Fishing |
400 nm west of Angola |
$15,000 fine Fine paid and subsequently deregistered |
Belize |
Illegal fishing in CCAMLR area |
Fishing |
CCAMLR statistical sub-area 48.3 |
Deregistration after reports that vessel re-flagged to another registry without consent of IMMARBE |
Belize |
Illegal fishing for orange roughy in South Tasman Rise conservation and management area |
Fishing |
South Tasman Rise |
Deregistered |
Belize |
Drug trafficking |
Fishing |
Miami, USA |
Deregistered |
Belize |
Non-compliance with Administrations repeated requests for general inspection of the vessel |
Fishing |
N/a |
Deregistered |
Belize |
Non-compliance with Administrations repeated requests for general inspection of the vessel |
Fishing |
N/a |
Deregistered |
Belize |
Illegal fishing reported by CCAMLR |
Fishing |
N/a |
None - no official report |
Belize |
Illegal fishing reported by CCAMLR |
Fishing |
N/a |
None - no official report |
Belize |
Non-compliance with Administrations repeated requests for general inspection of the vessel |
Fishing |
N/a |
Deregistered |
Cook Islands |
Several offences including certification and safety violations, and general poor condition of vessel |
Coastal Trawler |
New Zealand |
Vessel detained until all matters remedied. Vessel still detained and under negotiation to be sold. Owners have 3 months to remedy. |
Vanuatu |
Operating in restricted area |
N/A |
CCAMLR Toothfish Area |
3 vessels de-listed and removed from registry. |
Table 11: Enforcement measures by CCAMLR.
Open Registry State |
CCAMLR Action |
Outcome |
Belize |
Advised Belize of sightings of five fishing vessels in the Convention Area and of their failure to comply with CCAMLR Conservation Measures. |
Belize deleted four IUU vessels from its registry and warned fifth vessels of deregistration. |
Panama |
Issued several submissions on IUU fishing activities |
Panama provided CCAMLR with a list of all its vessels licensed to fish on the high seas in the Southern Ocean. Panama also advised that no licences have been currently issued to any of their vessels for fishing in waters in the CCAMLR Convention Area. |
Vanuatu |
In 1997 and 1998 CCAMLR advised Vanuatu of sightings in the Convention Area of three Vanuatu-flagged fishing vessels. |
Vanuatu stated that vessels which are proved to have violated the CCAMLR Convention will be considered for suspension or deletion from the Vanuatu registry. In 2001, Vanuatu acceded to the CCAMLR Convention. |
[312] As of 8 January
2002 [313] Expressed in US dollars, and gross amounts and as a percentage of total vessel registration revenue. [314] Information for this table was obtained from the following websites: www.flagsofconvenience.com and www.marinemerchante.hn as well as responses to questionnaires. [315] Lloyds Maritime Information Services 1997 and Lloyds Register - Fairplay Ltd. World Fleet Statistics 2001. [316] Lloyds Maritime Information Services, 1998. [317] Lloyds Maritime Information Services, 1998. [318] As of February 15, 2002 (Belize and Malta), March 28, 2002 (Cook Islands), March 29, 2002 (Vanuatu). [319] Applications are received by the Deputy Registrar at the head office in Belize or a Designated Overseas Office and processed within 3 days. [320] Applications (original documents required) are processed in consultation with the Registrar, Head of Inspections and any relevant third party. Provisional registration can be obtained in 24 hours. Permanent registration must be received within 3 months. [321] Applications are received by the Merchant Shipping Directorate and processed in a timely fashion if all documents are in order. [322] Applications are processed by the New York office of the Registry and approvals can be obtained in 2-3 weeks. Original documents required. [323] With no nationality requirements for shareholders or directors, the formation of a Maltese company is straightforward. [324] Vessels must be owned by a national of Vanuatu or a Vanuatu corporation. [325] Table of Catches by subarea and year for reported, estimated unreported and estimated total catches (tonnes) of Dissostichus eleginoides provided by CCAMLR in response to questionnaire. |