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FAO and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) have been collaborating to better understand the legal responses for combatting criminal activities in the fisheries sector. The FAO Development Law Service, together with the Global and Regional Processes Team of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Division are now joining efforts, through a FAO-UNODC Task Force, to iron out some of the complex legal issues associated with fisheries crimes. The results of this dialogue and research will inform an upcoming legislative Guide on the legal aspects of combatting crimes in the fisheries sector.
 
In February this year, 13 external experts, including representatives from academia, the private sector, government institutions, non-governmental organizations, and other international organizations joined the FAO-UNODC task force to discuss the content and structure of specific chapters of the draft Legislative Guide. An interactive exchange of views and constructive suggestions were made on improvements to the structure of the publication, aligning definitions, reviewing the model legal provisions and coming to a common position regarding certain sensitive issues such as the differences between crimes in the fisheries sector and ‘illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing’. The Legislative Guide is expected to be jointly published by UNODC and FAO later this year.

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