Piracy as a result of IUU fishing: Challenging the causal link

ABSTRACT With declining global fish stocks, there is a growing literature on the negative impact of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. While undoubtedly damaging, there is increasing analysis on the wider impact of IUU fishing, without sufficient evidence to support causal claims. This is particularly evident in the links between IUU fishing and piracy. IUU fishing was blamed for the surge of piracy in the Gulf of Aden in in the late 1990s/ early 2000s and is more recently presented as a driver for piracy in the Gulf of Guinea. In reviewing available evidence, this article finds that while there is a correlation between IUU fishing and piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, in that they both occur in the same areas, current evidence does not support a causal link between the two.