This week, FishWise’s Mariah Boyle is in London, England attending the 7th International Forum on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing. Every year, the forum brings together over 100 leading policymakers, researchers, industry representatives and civil society groups from across the world to discuss the latest initiatives, regulations and research in the area of fisheries governance and trade in illegal fish products.

This year’s forum will discuss the latest developments in Europe and West Africa, and also look at document schemes, port state measures and organized crime in the fishing sector.

In late 2011, Mariah visited Sierra Leone on the West Coast of Africa where she witnessed vessels (often from foreign countries) enter the country’s Inshore Exclusion Zone (IEZ) to fish. These vessels, if fishing without a permit, are part of a plethora of industrial fleets illegally taking an estimated 40% of the fish from the West African fisheries market. Mariah will bring this first hand experience to the forum and will look to help identify ways to curb this extremely damaging practice.

Look for an update on her time at the forum in this month’s newsletter. Sign up here!