Edited by: Chiara Piroddi, Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy
Reviewed by: Tommaso Russo, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy; Robin Kundis Craig, University of Southern California, United States
This article was submitted to Marine Affairs and Policy, a section of the journal Frontiers in Marine Science
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The focus on flag States for the purpose of attributing fisheries catch is inconsistent with the assignment of sovereign rights to coastal States under international law and undermines equity in contemporary quota allocation negotiations. We propose modernizing reporting frameworks to include zone-based reporting of fish catches to more equitably present data, ensure consistency with the Law of the Sea, and better support the realization by developing coastal States of their development aspirations consistent with SDG 14, Life Below Water. States are already required to collect the data necessary to support this change, and many regional fisheries management authorities already do so. Reforms to data collection and reporting mechanisms should support zone-based catch attribution as a central feature of negotiations around access to future fishing opportunities on shared resources. Doing so will ensure that the sovereign rights of developing coastal States are properly accounted for and implemented.
Global fish catches have traditionally been attributed to States based upon the flag (nationality) of the fishing vessel taking the catch rather than the location of fishing activity. This practice predates the adoption of the 1982 United Nation Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC) and its recognition of coastal States’ sovereign rights over their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs). Decisions from the 1950s, prioritizing consistency and ease of statistical reporting, have continued into the 21st century, with little reflection of the changes wrought by the adoption of the LOSC. This approach has ensured that flag State attribution of catch continues to be the default position, underpinning important and useful datasets including the benchmark United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) biennial State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA) report. However, there are other characteristics of fish catches upon which data is frequently collected and reported, including the maritime jurisdiction where the fish were caught, which could also form a basis for national catch attribution. The question of how catches are attributed is not an idle one. How fisheries data is reported, and how catches are thereby attributed, can have significant practical impacts on how that data can be used. Catch reporting and attribution also shape the framing of important discussions around conservation and management of fish stocks. These impacts are relevant to contemporary negotiations that are taking place in a number of subregional and regional fisheries management fora around the allocation of fishing opportunities, where historical fishing catches are a key consideration in the determination of future fishing rights.
Recognizing the sovereign rights of coastal States is especially important as the vast majority of fish catches come from areas within national jurisdiction.
This paper seeks to change the discourse around national attribution of fish catches by demonstrating the need to expand current flag-based reporting of global fisheries statistics to include zonal attribution of catches. The reasons for this are twofold. First, we argue that concentrating on flag States for the national attribution of catches, without giving equal prominence to the geographical origin of those catches, undermines the sovereign rights of coastal States over fisheries resources within their EEZs. Second, we demonstrate that a flag-based attribution framework is inconsistent with internationally agreed obligations under the 1982 LOSC and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We do not argue that geographic reporting should replace reporting by flag State, as both have merit, but that both are necessary to accurately implement the LOSC and SDGs. Catch attribution is an important and timely issue for developing coastal States in both the Indian and Pacific oceans, where ongoing negotiations regarding access to future fishing opportunities are heavily influenced by historical reporting. We show how attributing catch data can impact on important negotiations regarding future fishing rights and thereby diminish the benefit that coastal States may derive from their fisheries. To correct historical inequities, we highlight the need to collect geographic data and to establish a reporting and attribution framework that supports the development aspirations of SIDS and other coastal States.
Here we outline relevant internationally agreed obligations and principles to demonstrate how these either require, or are advanced by, a catch reporting system with coastal State attribution. The LOSC, SDGs and declarations on the development rights and aspirations of SIDS are all important in this regard. We then examine the history and structure of current fisheries data reporting according to FAO guidelines, to demonstrate that there is a compelling argument to modernize the attribution framework. We briefly introduce the equity context of catch attribution, and survey current data collection and reporting practices by regional fisheries bodies to determine what data is currently collected and consider how zonal attribution might be advanced within the current reporting framework. Finally, we highlight some of the practical implications for flag-based and zone-based attribution of catches, before recommending next steps. Throughout the paper we use the term “catch” to reflect the harvesting of fish, and note that catch data should also include appropriate fishing effort data so as to enable management and science.
Important international law obligations require the collection of data to support the management by coastal States of fisheries under sovereign rights, and the equitable distribution of the burden of conserving highly migratory species and straddling stocks. The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC) provides the legal framework for all marine activities, including fishing, and allocates rights and responsibilities between coastal States and others. Following its adoption in 1982, approximately 36% of the world’s ocean surface, more than a third of its seabed, and 90% of its fisheries resources were assigned to the national jurisdiction of coastal States (
The benefits of an EEZ are not conferred without cost; the coastal State holds significant obligations to ensure that fish stocks in its EEZ are managed sustainably, including obligations to collect and share data (LOSC, Article 61). Nationals of other States who fish in the coastal State’s EEZ must comply with the coastal State’s conservation measures, including those regulating catch limits and data collection (LOSC Article 62). Through these various provisions, the LOSC indicates a clear intention both that coastal States control and benefit from the fisheries within their EEZ, and that data necessary to sustainably manage those fisheries be collected and shared. Reporting fisheries data in a manner that allows coastal States to identify the scope and value of their endowment, i.e., by ensuring that catches from within an area under sovereign rights are identified as such, is critical for sound conservation and management decisions and for supporting the development aspirations of coastal States.
Complexities arise where the relevant fish stocks do not confine themselves to the EEZ of a single coastal State. In this case, States with an interest in those stocks either as coastal States (where the stocks straddle two or more EEZs) or as coastal or fishing States (for stocks which move between EEZ and high seas) are obliged to cooperate in the development of appropriate conservation and management measures (LOSC Articles 63 and 64). The 1995 Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 Relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks (the UN Fish Stocks Agreement, or “UNFSA”) (
The UNFSA anticipates that regional or subregional fisheries management organizations (collectively, “RFMOs”) will be the primary mechanism through which fishing and coastal States cooperate (UNFSA Article 8), and gives detailed guidance on requirements for data collection and sharing in relation to straddling and highly migratory fish stocks [UNFSA Article 3(1) and Annex 1]. The UNFSA obligations to collect data fall largely upon the flag State, which is reasonable given that most of the basic information will come from the vessels themselves. This does not, however, require that catch data only be attributed according to the nationality of the fishing vessel. To only present the data in this way obscures the value of fisheries resources granted to coastal States under the LOSC.
The UNFSA also requires that developing States be given special assistance to ensure their effective participation in the conservation, management and sustainable use of these straddling and highly migratory fish stocks (UNFSA, Article 24). In particular, when developing conservation and management measures in furtherance of their duty to cooperate, States are required to “ensure that such measures do not result in transferring, directly or indirectly, a disproportionate burden of conservation action onto developing States” [UNFSA Article 24(2)(c)]. This obligation is central to the equitable implementation by RFMOs of measures to allocate future fishing rights, and the way in which historical catch data are presented will have an important influence upon allocation negotiations within these organizations.
A reporting framework that facilitates the attribution of catches by geographic origin is also important for advancing key aspects of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs explicitly recognize the importance of maritime zones, particularly the EEZ, to the development aspirations of SIDS. Target 14.7 of SDG 14, Life Below Water, seeks to “increase the economic benefits to SIDS and least developed countries from the sustainable use of marine resources, including through sustainable management of fisheries, aquaculture and tourism” (
The collection and attribution of catch data by geographic origin is important for all of these internationally agreed-upon obligations and goals. Knowing the origin of the catch provides essential information to support the sustainable management of national and shared fish stocks. A standardized, globally accepted system of reporting catch based upon the zone of origin would provide a reliable and comparable representation of the value and extent of coastal State sovereign rights, and support decision-making for maximizing the benefits of those resources to developing coastal States. Moreover, a zone-based reporting and attribution framework would benefit the development aspirations of developing coastal States as it would start to identify and address historical inequities. The paper will briefly address this fundamental question of equity, before examining the history and rationale of the current global fisheries catch reporting framework.
Fair and equitable allocation of resources is one of the most important aspects of natural resource governance (
Despite the general consensus that natural resource regimes should promote equity principles, the growing awareness of development aspirations of SIDS, and the legal framework provided by the LOSC, colonial attitudes still shape fisheries policies that result in an inequitable
The practice of attributing fish production to the States that have historically fished the resource—rather than the States from which the resource came—acts to grant historical claim of the resource to States with historically developed fishing capacity, and undermines the development aspirations of developing States (
The FAO is formally tasked with the collection and analysis of information relating to nutrition, food and agriculture, including fisheries (
This assumption dates back to a 1954 decision of the United Nations Statistical Commission based upon a request by some members for fish landings to be included in trade and production statistics. Noting that national practice varied, the Statistical Commission recommended that, “wherever the magnitude of landings is of importance and wherever it is possible to do so, countries should include in their import statistics fish landed on their shores directly from foreign fishing vessels and include in their export statistics fish landed abroad by domestic fishing vessels.” (UN Doc E/CN.3/L.33, par 13) Importantly, the Commission report then notes, “It was the opinion of the Commission that the attribution of provenance by flag of fishing vessel would usually produce useful figures” (see also
Fisheries data and statistics play a central role in modern fisheries management; however, data needs depend upon the policy context and the types of decisions that need to be supported. Decision-making about how to sustainably manage a particular stock, the food security requirements of a national population, the socio-economic conditions of fishers, or the contribution of the fishing sector to a national economy all rely upon basic data about the amount of fish caught, how it was caught, who catches them, and where they go after landing. However, the manner in which that data is processed and presented is critical to its role in decision-making and its ability to serve important policy goals. In this context, it is important to consider just how well a reporting convention that was originally thought to “usually produce useful figures” for historical trade and production statistics serves current challenges in sustainable fisheries management. In particular, we argue that spatialized catch data is critical for equitable decision-making in current negotiations concerning the allocation of shared resources.
The FAO’s SOFIA report makes some effort to report catches geographically based upon designated “Major Fishing Areas for Statistical Purposes,” however, these areas do not reflect national maritime boundaries and are insufficient for modern post-LOSC needs. The FAO designates 19 major marine fishing areas, the boundaries of which are acknowledged to be “arbitrary,” although they were originally determined taking into account a number of factors including geography, and noting that “the areas should, as far as possible, coincide with the areas of competence of other fishery commissions when existing” (
Some progress has been made in this regard. In 2007, in FAO Major Fishing Area 47 (Atlantic, Southeast), the FAO and the South East Atlantic Fisheries Organization (SEAFO) endorsed a proposal to rearrange the statistical divisions within the Area to allow for catches taken within the EEZs of SEAFO member States to be distinguished from catches taken elsewhere (
This section examines current RFMO practice and considers the potential for zone-based catch attribution to be more widely implemented. RFMOs and regional marine organizations (RMOs) manage international fisheries and collect catch data to provide scientific advice on stock status and total allowable catch (TAC). Although some RFMOs only have jurisdiction over the high seas, many have a mandate for stocks that also straddle or migrate to and from EEZs. An analysis of the reporting requirements of RFMOs and RMOs showed that many of these organizations are already collecting spatialized catch data from both the high seas and EEZs (
Summary of spatialized data collection by RFMO/RMO. Operational data provides the most precise spatialized attribution of catches; data may also be aggregated at the level of 1 × 1 degree (degree 1 × 1) or 5 × 5 degree (degree 5 × 5) or may be aggregated on some other basis (other), e.g., FAO statistical area or sub-area. Full details of data collection and reporting for each RFMO/RMO are provided in
For the purposes of spatially attributing catch, the resolution at which catch data is reported is critical. Catch data aggregated at the level of 5 × 5 degree may be suitable for scientific purposes, but it is unlikely to be sufficiently fine scale to permit attribution at the margins of maritime zones. Catches reported against maritime spaces that do not correspond to maritime jurisdictions (EEZs and high seas areas) are also of little use for spatial attribution. Catch data transmitted from a vessel to its flag State (that is, operational data) may be of sufficiently high resolution to enable the attribution of that catch to either an EEZ or a high seas area. However, the flag State, as a member of an RFMO or RMO, may only be required to provide aggregated data to that organization. To permit spatial attribution, the RFMO/RMO will require either high resolution, disaggregated data or data aggregated by maritime jurisdiction provided by the member State.
The case of the WCPFC demonstrates that RFMOs can in fact require members to provide data suitable for spatial attribution. WCPFC members have agreed to do so. This process typically requires that vessels authorized to fly the member’s flag, or vessels authorized to fish in its waters, must supply operational level data to that member, who then forward the data to the WCPFC Secretariat. When data is provided by vessels for catches in an EEZ, this dual reporting channel allows both sets of data to be compared to each other and to Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) data for verification purposes. That the WCPFC has been able to establish a requirement for reporting of operational data suggests that there is no fundamental barrier to other RFMOs doing so. Furthermore, those members that have committed to providing operational data in one RFMO, should reasonably support initiatives to do so in other RFMOs of which they are also members, in their capacity as both a coastal State and a flag State, as appropriate. RFMOs that require only aggregated data to be provided by their members should at the very least require aggregation by maritime jurisdiction (the particular EEZ or high seas area) rather than by “subareas” or FAO areas that bear no relation to maritime jurisdictions.
The switch to zonal based attribution presents a very different picture of the value of fisheries resources and to which States they are credited. This is particularly true for fishing activity in regions traditionally dominated by distant water fishing. As shown in
Average annual catch (2016–2020) of albacore, bigeye, skipjack, and yellowfin tuna reported to WCPFC by nation, as a percentage of total average catch of these species in their own waters over the same time period. Darker shades indicate the nation catches a higher proportion of tuna outside of its own waters. Data from
While presenting fisheries catches based upon the production of flag States rather than place of capture may seem like a minor issue, this attribution approach contributes to a discourse focused on colonial perspectives and negatively influences equity concerns. This influence is apparent in current negotiations in both Pacific and Indian Ocean RFMOs around allocation of future fishing rights. The WCPFC has been considering allocation issues since the early years of its establishment (see for example,
Generally, allocation practices (i.e., the actual material allocation of national opportunities to participate in a fishery) are most strongly shaped by the existing data and information. As noted above, while there are various ways to allocate future fishing opportunities amongst member States, basing that allocation on catch history is one of the most common mechanisms (
In the Pacific, the tuna fisheries are one of the main sources of economic revenue for coastal States (
Balance of interests in fishing by the national fleet in their own waters (orange), fishing in national waters by foreign vessels (gray), and distant water fishing (blue) in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean: catch volumes for albacore, bigeye, skipjack, yellowfin, all gear types for the three years from 2018 to 2020. CCMs are listed in order of relative reliance on catches in their national waters by both domestic fleets and foreign fleets. Data from
Some States (for example, France in relation to the three overseas French territories, as well as Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, and Australia) rely solely on domestic fleets taking catches in their EEZs. For these States, attribution would not matter in the present circumstances as they would receive the allocation regardless of how catch history was attributed. However, these coastal States may in the future wish to allow foreign vessels into their EEZ to generate further revenue from the sale of access rights. They may also wish to develop a distant water fleet. Several SIDS and territories rely heavily on access to their EEZs by foreign fleets. Pre-emptively allocating catches to flag States removes the opportunity for coastal States, many of which are SIDS, to sell access to the highest bidder, potentially forgoing substantial returns. It also removes the option for the coastal State to develop its own fleet to fish its own EEZ in the future. Some States have purely distant water fishing interests in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, yet would receive allocations based on their status as a flag State without having any waters in the region (e.g., Spain). Others, such as Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands, have a mix of all three interests.
The attribution of catches to States by flag or by maritime zone will affect each State differently depending on its interests. Attribution to flag States would undermine the coastal State interests of the Pacific SIDS by ignoring their sovereign rights to determine who may fish in their EEZs and by removing the opportunity to develop their domestic fleets. Attribution by zone – to EEZs and to the high seas – is more likely to provide SIDS with the opportunity to maximize the benefits obtained from the fisheries resources within their EEZs, while leaving open the opportunity to develop their domestic and distant water fleets. While it may be appropriate to attribute catches to flag States for the high seas, establishing allocations on this basis would perpetuate the disadvantage that SIDS have faced in developing distant water fleets. This suggests that a more equitable approach would be first, to allocate a portion of a TAC or total allowable effort (TAE) to the high seas, and then to design a process to allocate that limit that allows the possibility of States without a catch history to acquire an allocation in the future.
The LOSC and UNFSA together recognize the sovereign rights of coastal States over the fisheries resources within their EEZ, and require the collection of data to allow fish catches to be attributed to the EEZ of origin. Despite this legal framework, and the significance of EEZ fisheries to sustainable development, catch attribution practices continue to prioritize “catch by flag State” rather than “catch by geographic origin.” This approach fails to recognize the fundamental sovereign rights of coastal States over fisheries in waters under their jurisdiction. By removing this important perspective from discussions around fisheries management, in particular when those discussions concern catch allocations across developing coastal States and developed fishing States, this reporting bias undermines equity and perpetuates colonial legacies.
As the current catch attribution framework is inconsistent with the LOSC and SDGs, we propose that responsible institutions, such as RFMOs and the FAO, modernize their reporting mechanisms to better recognize the sovereign rights of coastal States. Spatialized reporting of catch data, allowing for zonal attribution of catches, acknowledges the sovereign rights of coastal States consistent with international law, and would make an important contribution toward achieving SDG 14. The experiences of allocation negotiations in the IOTC and WCPFC, however, suggest that reforms to data collection and reporting mechanisms are only a first step. Zonal based catch attribution must be a central feature of negotiations around access to future fishing opportunities on shared resources if the sovereign rights of coastal States are to be properly accounted for.
Some RFMOs already have mechanisms in place for zonal based catch reporting. For example, the WCPFC collects data on fishing activity to monitor compliance with effort limits for the tropical purse seine fishery that have been set for each EEZ in the WCPFC convention area and for the high seas. While access to some other WCPFC fisheries, such as longline catches of bigeye tuna, continues to be allocated and reported on the basis of the flag State, geographical catch data is still collected (
Parties who are in favor of the flag-based reporting approach could argue that there is insufficient data to provide the requested information. While this might be true for small-scale and artisanal fisheries, the UNFSA provides explicit management obligations for straddling and migratory fish stocks, requiring States “to collect and share, complete and accurate data concerning fishing activities” such as vessel position [UNFSA Article 5(j)]. It also requires that assistance be provided to developing States to support the collection of such data (UNFSA Article 25). The increasing sophistication of monitoring, control and surveillance technologies, such as electronic monitoring, and the increasing use of VMSs are overcoming many of the practical objections to location-based catch reporting (
Catch data collection for each of the RFMOs and the FAO.
Acronym | Organization | Jurisdiction | Data collection methods | Information on catch for associated/adjacent EEZs or EEZs within jurisdiction is available | What information is provided | Catch reports publicly available |
CCAMLR | Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources | High seas | By flag State | Yes | Vessel information (vessel IMO number; vessel flag; vessel name; vessel call sign; email address of person responsible for submitting the data) |
Yes |
GFCM | General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean | High seas and EEZ |
By flag State | NA | Flag State, species, annual catch, subarea/division | Yes |
NAFO | Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization | High seas and EEZ | By flag State | No | Flag |
Yes |
NEAFC | Northeast Atlantic Fisheries Commission | High seas and EEZ | By contracting party | Yes | Catch report by fishing vessels (catch on entry, catch report, catch on exit, transshipment report, port of landing report. See here: |
No |
NPFC | North Pacific Fisheries Commission | High seas | By flag State | Yes | Total catch and effort |
Yes |
SEAFO | Southeast Atlantic Fisheries Commission | High seas | By flag State | No | Information on vessel (vessel IMO number; vessel flag; vessel name; vessel call sign) |
No |
SIOFA | Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement | High seas | By flag State | No | Information on vessel (vessel IMO number; vessel flag; vessel name; vessel call sign) |
No |
SPRFMO | South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization | High seas | By member | Yes | Vessel information (vessel IMO number; vessel flag; vessel name; vessel call sign; vessel type, characteristics and authorization details) |
Yes |
CCSBT | Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna | High seas and EEZ | By flag State | Yes | For southern bluefin tuna: total annual catch by fleet ( |
Partly |
IATTC | Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission | High seas and EEZ | By flag State | No | Annual total catch and effort estimate by flag, gear, set-type. Reported catch and effort of primary species by flag, year, month and grouped position. |
Yes |
ICCAT | International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna | High seas and EEZ | By flag State | Yes | Nominal catch data (landings and dead discards) by species, year, flag, gear, stock/management unit, sampling area, fishing zone (EEZ and/or High seas) in live weight equivalent (biomass). Collection of data by ICCAT statistical areas and 1 × 1 degree for purse seiners and 5 × 5 degree for long liners. | Yes |
IOTC | Indian Ocean Tuna Commission | High seas and EEZ | By flag State | Yes | Total catch data (estimates of the total annual catch by species, flag, gear and IO major area) for IOTC and bycatch species; |
Yes |
WCPFC | Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission | High seas and EEZ | By flag State |
Yes | Annual catch and effort by primary species and gear; |
Yes |
FAO | Food and Agriculture Organization | NA | By member State | No – catch is reported according to the FAO major areas | State; species; area code; unit (i.e., indicates the quantity or value unit of the data reported); quantity (in live weight equivalent without discards) |
Yes |
Here we highlight the flag State-focused discourse around catch attribution and its potential ramifications for the development aspirations of SIDS and coastal developing States. Focusing on flag States rather than on coastal States is inconsistent with the LOSC assignment of sovereign rights and undermines and contradicts SDG 14. Moreover, this discourse influences international management discussions of fisheries resources, especially on the allocation of future fishing rights. Since quota allocations are primarily based on historical catch, attributing catches to flag States favors States that have historically had the capacity to invest in and develop their fishing fleets, and undermines the development aspirations of SIDS and coastal developing States. Therefore, we propose modernizing reporting frameworks to include zone-based reporting of fish catches. This will provide a more equitable presentation of the data, ensure consistency with the LOSC, and better support the goals of SDG 14. Attributing catches to geographical origin is an essential first step in understanding and accounting for the true value of these fisheries resources, and ensuring the equitable distribution of their value into the future.
The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.
RD, QH, BH, and KA contributed to conception and design of the study. BH, AC-M, KA and PG-E performed the data analysis and visualization. RD wrote the first draft of the manuscript with contributions from all authors.
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
RD, QH, BH, KA, KS, WS, AC-M, PG-E, and MC acknowledge support from the Nippon Foundation Ocean Nexus Center at the University of Washington EarthLab.
We would like to thank the secretariats of the RFMOs and RMOs for their kind assistance in compiling the information in