{"id":40094254,"date":"2024-03-07T17:21:04","date_gmt":"2024-03-07T17:21:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chinadialogueocean.net\/?p=94254"},"modified":"2024-04-11T11:48:03","modified_gmt":"2024-04-11T11:48:03","slug":"uruguays-navy-looks-to-shine-a-light-on-dark-fishing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/ocean\/uruguays-navy-looks-to-shine-a-light-on-dark-fishing\/","title":{"rendered":"Uruguay\u2019s navy looks to shine a light on \u2018dark fishing\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Every day, sailors on fishing vessels around the globe turn off their tracking systems and vanish from the gaze of authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are legitimate reasons for ships to disappear in this way from the Automatic Identification System (AIS) that broadcasts their identities and locations \u2013 including seeking to avoid pirates. But the practice has been linked to oil smuggling, gun running and human trafficking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Atlantic waters off South America, Lieutenant Commander Hugo de Barros of the Uruguayan Navy watches for tell-tale signs of a different activity linked to this \u201cgoing dark\u201d: illegal fishing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

De Barros is interim head of the fleet command\u2019s search-and-rescue centre, which is responsible for monitoring Uruguay\u2019s water. He says the navy has tools that enable it to approximate ships\u2019 locations while dark. \u201cWhen we see these vessels disappear and show up in the system, it creates clues and patterns that allow us to determine if they are in a suspicious situation of illegal fishing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such illegal fishing threatens tuna, sharks, swordfish, turtles and seabirds in Uruguayan waters. It is a growing concern as the country seeks to safeguard its marine environment and establish more protected areas. The problem is compounded by a lack of resources for patrolling national waters, but this may be changing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Out of the system and causing problems<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dark activity and the often-related issue of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is a growing global problem<\/a>. According to one study, fishing vessels switch off their AIS systems around 6%<\/a> of the time, in ways that suggests this is often related to IUU activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Uruguay, where China Dialogue has previously reported problems<\/a> with foreign fishing ships docking at the main port of Montevideo, there is concern that going dark may be on the increase. A study team from Mar Azul Uruguayo<\/a>, a project of the NGO Che Wirapit\u00e1, analysed 46 ships apparently fishing between November 2022 and November 2023 in an area identified by the environment ministry as a priority for conservation \u2013 the Restinga del Pez Lim\u00f3n. Using data from the tracking projects Global Fishing Watch and Skylight, they found<\/a> 42 of these vessels switched off their AIS systems 736 times in that period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/div>
(Data source: Global Fishing Watch; Map: China Dialogue Ocean)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

According to their report, four of these were registered in Taiwan, and their dark activity took place in international waters, not within the area. Inside the Restinga del Pez Lim\u00f3n, 26 Argentinean-flagged vessels were responsible for 89% of the dark activity and 12 Uruguayan-flagged vessels for the remaining 11%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comparing just November 2022 and November 2023, the Mar Azul Uruguayo researchers found dark activity more than doubled in the Argentinean fleet, from 66 events to 162. Among the Uruguayan boats, it tripled from 13 to 40.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andr\u00e9s Milessi, the director of the group, says the efforts of many people to promote greater control of fishing are held back by the \u201cobstacles and bureaucracy\u201d of the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are many freely available surveillance tools at Uruguay\u2019s disposal, but it depends on the political will to access them,\u201d says Milessi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He says a number of organisations are now trying to convince deputies and senators in the Uruguayan Congress to toughen up laws on illegal fishing. For the moment, however, \u201cthe boats are still coming in and out, and the authorities are pretending that it\u2019s business as usual\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ship shortage hampers fisheries enforcement<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to De Barros, the navy\u2019s lack of capacity has undermined its ability to combat illegal fishing. He says fishing and related activities, such as the transfer of catches between vessels, constitute \u201cabout 99% of the dark activity that is recorded\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"line<\/div>
Transfer of catches between vessels in the South Atlantic can be perfectly legal, but \u201cgoing dark\u201d has been linked to illicit transfers, as well as illegal fishing (Image: Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert \/ Alamy)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

At the end of 2022, the navy obtained<\/a> vessels to patrol the Uruguay River. But De Barros says \u201cwe are most depleted\u201d in the R\u00edo de la Plata, where the Uruguay River flows into the ocean, and in the Atlantic itself. He says the navy currently has only three vessels capable of navigating these waters, two of which \u201care quite limited in terms of speed\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In December, the Ministry of Defence signed off<\/a> the purchase of two ocean-going patrol vessels as it moves to strengthen the navy\u2019s capacity to protect territorial waters. These are in addition to other boats already acquired during the current government, which took power in 2020, including four launches, a search-and-rescue ship, and a scientific vessel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to De Barros, the new patrol boats \u201care fundamental because they are specifically designed to meet [our] needs\u201d. Most importantly, they will increase the navy\u2019s deep-water surveillance capability, both directly and through their ability to carry helicopters that can travel even further and faster. \u201cWe gain a much greater response capability,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

De Barros says he is unaware of the figures reported by Mar Azul Uruguayo but believes that any increase in the problem is probably due to the lack of navy vessels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the construction of the new vessels \u201cwill take time\u201d, he hopes they will be a lasting solution. \u201cNot like what has happened in recent years, when friendly countries give us material that is already at the limit of its useful life, generating very limited capacities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n