Proposal by the United States of America to Amend CMM 2019-02: Conservation and Management Measure to Establish a List of Vessels Presumed to Have Carried Out Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing Activities in the Convention Area of the NPFC

The IUU Vessel List CMM was adopted in 2016 at the 1st TCC meeting and the 2nd meeting of the Commission (CMM 2016-02). The IUU Vessel List CMM was amended in 2017 to encourage the exchange of information regarding vessels presumably engaged in IUU fishing. The same year NPFC adopted its first IUU Vessel List. The current text of this CMM was adopted in 2019 (CMM 2019-02).
The current CMM sets forth the process for listing a vessel on the NPFC IUU Vessel List: preliminary identification and inclusion on the Draft List by the Executive Secretary, discussion at the TCC and adoption of the Provisional List, and assessment by the Commission and adoption of the Final List. The IUU Vessel List CMM also states rules for removing vessels from the list and for modification of vessel names and International Radio Call Sign (IRCS) numbers.
In 2022, NPFC received its first Performance Review. The Review Panel highlighted issues with the current IUU Vessel List CMM, including the IUU vessel listing processes. In the four of the five assessments the Commission has undertaken under the IUU vessel listing process (2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021), all of the vessels included on the Final IUU Vessel List are without nationality. The Review Panel stated that “the lack of information about the operations of the stateless vessels included in the annual IUU Vessel List is a concerning finding.” (Report of the North Pacific Fisheries Commission Performance Review Panel, pg. 75.) The Review Panel recommended that the Commission consider ways to find out more about these vessels, their activities and the ports they frequent, and information about beneficial ownership of any of the listed vessels. The Review Panel further recommended that the Commission adopt a long-term strategy to address the problem of vessels without nationality engaged in IUU fishing, with specific steps for finding and collecting information about each vessel, including on beneficiaries of their fishing activities and their operational aspects (Recommendation 5.2.5).