International Day for the Fight Against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing Date in the current year: June 5, 2024

In a world of persistent hunger and constantly growing population, fish has become one of the commodities for the achievement of food security, as well as an important source of income. In many countries, fishing is not only a vital source of food, but also a guarantee of job security and, accordingly, of the economic well-being of the population.

Unfortunately, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing undermines the efforts by the international community to ensure the sustainability of the fishing industry. It is responsible for the loss of 11–26 million tonnes of fish each year, which is equivalent to $10–23 billion.

In 2015, the United Nations adopted the so-called Sustainable Development Goals. The 14th of the 17 goals, titled Life Below Water, is to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. The fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing is one of the tools for accomplishing this goal.

In 2009, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) adopted the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing. It came into effect on June 5, 2016. In December 2017, this date was declared as the International Day for the Fight Against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing.