Subsidies for Illegal Activities?-Reframing IUU Fishing from the Law Enforcement Perspective

Fisheries subsidies norms and discussions at present are based on the subsidy framework under the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures. This approach is pertinent vis-a-vis various types of governmental subsidies provided to fisheries industries. It, however, fails to tackle illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, one of the core targets of the fisheries subsidies norms, because few governments 'subsidize' illegal activities such as IUU. As far as IUU fishing is concerned, the real challenge is not about subsidies but about how to enforce domestic laws and regulations to punish owners, operators, and fishermen engaged in such illegal activities. Future discussion of fisheries subsidies norms regarding IUU should reflect the law enforcement aspect in addition to the present subsidy aspect.