Bangladesh: Building Strong Partnerships to Combat Fisheries Crime

                                                                                                                                                                      

Dhaka, Bangladesh/March 2018: Calling for collective action against fisheries crime, two meetings were convened in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh featuring nearly 100 participants from private companies engaged in the fisheries trade supply chain.

Among the issues deliberated at the meeting were the magnitude and types of fisheries crime, global statistics, trade and exports in the sector, recent seizures, trans-boundary illegal fishing and other criminal offences. Country responses on fisheries crime and the control process mechanisms were also discussed, besides the critical role of the private sector in combating fisheries crime.

Following an open discussion, participants suggested a complete ban of trans-shipment, and the need to generate greater public awareness around the issue. Discussants underscored the importance of capacity building initiatives for the fishermen community and management, and to jointly build robust systems of vessel monitoring with modern equipments.

The meetings were held as part of the "FishNet" project of the UNODC Container Control Programme, which provides specialized training to enhance the operational skills of government officials in detecting and inspecting cargo containers.

The project is funded by Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD).