Presenter(s):
Dyhia Belhabib, PhD, Principal Investigator, Ecotrust Canada

Sponsor(s):
NWFSC’s Virtual Monster Jam; POC: Vicky.Krikelas@noaa.gov

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ABSTRACT
The fisheries sector is affected by many types of crimes and illegalities, some directly relating to fishing activities but also diverse types of fraud, trafficking, as well as human rights, labor and environmental abuses. We use the most comprehensive illegal fishing and maritime criminality database to look into and understand trends of illegal fishing and maritime criminality in the world’s oceans and how they relate to each other, introducing a concept of ‘transversal criminality’ in fisheries �” a term referring to the co-occurrence of different categories of offences by the same entity, whether a vessel or a company. The main victims of these offences include vulnerable populations exposed to abuses and loss of marine resources, states and citizens losing public revenues, and ecosystems hurt by damaging illegal practices and undermined management regimes. Illegal fishing and other offences are directly hurting the legal part of the fishing industry by frustrating fair competition, eroding the sustainability of its resource base, and tainting its reputation. In turn, as people lose income and agency, they engage in various forms of ocean criminality. In addition to global trends of illegality in fisheries, transversal criminality and what it looks like, I will address the drivers of illegal fishing and ocean criminality, and introduce a new concept enabling these crimes “adjacency”.

BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Dyhia Belhabib is a Principal Investigator of fisheries at Ecotrust Canada. Dr. Belhabib works on fisheries economics, and conservation issues, and created the most comprehensive criminal record of fishing vessels published through Spyglass.fish. Before joining Ecotrust Canada, Dyhia was the lead researcher and engagement focal point for the Sea Around Us Africa at the University of British Columbia (UBC). She has reconstructed fisheries catches in 22 countries of West Africa, and assessed the economic and societal importance of small-scale fisheries and how their resilience and performance are impacted by illegal fisheries, climate change, and lack of adequate data. She is an entrepreneur building AI and technologies to assess criminality risks associated with seafood businesses and vessels across the world and deter illegal fishing and maritime crimes in collaboration with various governmental agencies.

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