Implementation of the International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) can play an important role in encouraging consistent and sound practices for estimating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities around the world. This first volume in a series of guidance documents on this topic outlines guiding principles and approaches applicable to a broad range of IUU fishing estimation scenarios. It begins by defining which components of IUU fishing to estimate depending on the specific objectives of the exercise. It then helps to set boundaries for the estimation exercise based on the fishery, species, area and timeframe of interest. Top-down and bottom-up methodological approaches are introduced, with examples, as ways of partitioning an overall IUU fishing amount into component activities, or compiling estimates of IUU fishing at a granular scale to form an overall composite figure, respectively. Ideas for presenting results to maximize the uptake by stakeholders and decision-makers are also presented.