IUU and the law (Secondary) - Lesson One
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Lesson duration is: 45 minIntroduction
Lesson One – What is IUU fishing activity?
This lesson explains what IUU fishing activity is, including by-catch.
Learning activities:
Discuss and investigate by-catch and the reasons why IUU takes place.
Instructions
Time: 45 minutes
Contact: education@seashepherdglobal.org
© Sea Shepherd 2022
Items in this lesson
Slide 1 - Slide
This lesson is provided by Sea Shepherd. Sea Shepherd was founded in 1977 and is a marine conservation organisation working to protect the oceans and marine wildlife. Sea Shepherd works globally on a range of issues impacting the oceans, running numerous direct action campaigns each year.
Slide 2 - Slide
During the lesson we will use these icons to identify the learning actions.
What does IUU fishing mean?
Slide 3 - Mind map
Ask students “What do you think IUU fishing means?
Slide 4 - Slide
Illegal fishing means that the fishermen enter the territorial waters of a country or regulated marine zone without permission or without a license for the fish they intend to catch. In basic terms they are stealing from these waters.
Ask students to answer the following question using www.LessonUp.app or discuss in the classroom.
“How can a legal fishing vessel (licensed) be guilty of operating illegally?”
Ask students to answer the following question using www.LessonUp.app or discuss in the classroom.
“How can a legal fishing vessel (licensed) be guilty of operating illegally?”
Slide 5 - Slide
Unreported means that a fishing vessel may have a license with an allocated quota for fishing a particular species, such as tuna, but then catches more than their quota and they fail to report it.
When vessels are inspected the information recorded in the fishing logbooks are compared against what is in the fish holds of the vessel to determine if the catch has been reported correctly.
When vessels are inspected the information recorded in the fishing logbooks are compared against what is in the fish holds of the vessel to determine if the catch has been reported correctly.
Slide 6 - Slide
Unregulated refers to areas in the ocean where there may not be a quota or any regulations in place, either in that location or for the type of species.
There are areas of the ocean that are not subject to any regulation, generally because they are not controlled by a particular country or form part of any regulated zone. Fishing vessels can head to these areas knowing no one is likely to be patrolling or monitoring fishing activities.
There are areas of the ocean that are not subject to any regulation, generally because they are not controlled by a particular country or form part of any regulated zone. Fishing vessels can head to these areas knowing no one is likely to be patrolling or monitoring fishing activities.
Regulating the fishing industry is a huge task, given the size of the oceans and the scale of commercial fishing operations. There are thousands of illegal fishing vessels out at sea at any moment in time.
Slide 7 - Slide
The United Nations estimates that 30% of the global fishing catch comes from Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing. This amount varies by region from 15% to 40%.
Slide 8 - Slide
By-catch is basically anything that is caught in fishing nets or on lines, that the fishermen don’t want or are not allowed to legally catch.
Generally, they remove the by-catch from the nets and return it to the ocean. However, many of these animals will have already died before they are freed. By-catch could be other species of fish, turtles, dolphins, sharks or even whales.
Generally, they remove the by-catch from the nets and return it to the ocean. However, many of these animals will have already died before they are freed. By-catch could be other species of fish, turtles, dolphins, sharks or even whales.
Slide 9 - Video
It is estimated that around 26% of the global fishing catch is by-catch.
Show this video from Sea Shepherd’s Operation Albacore which explains purse seine fishing and by-catch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsmA0gX2qNk&t=11s
Show this video from Sea Shepherd’s Operation Albacore which explains purse seine fishing and by-catch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsmA0gX2qNk&t=11s
Slide 10 - Slide
Close
Slide 11 - Slide
Refer Lesson Guide for activity suggestions.
