European fishing firms are reflagging vessels to access Indian Ocean tuna quotas, allowing European-owned fleets to expand their catch of tropical tuna despite the European Union’s commitments to cutting back. A new report by the Blue Marine Foundation and Kroll reveals that European companies have extracted a third of the tropical tuna catch in the Indian Ocean, even as yellowfin and bigeye tuna stocks are under pressure and still recovering from severe overfishing. This systematic re-registration of ships under the flags of the Seychelles, Mauritius, Kenya, Tanzania, and Oman grants access to greater catch limits, ensuring continued surplus extraction for European capital.
The report, released today and shared in advance with The Associated Press, precedes an annual meeting of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission in the Maldives. The European fishing fleet, characterized by massive purse seine ships capable of holding 4 million pounds (1.8 million kilograms) of fish, has long dominated the region. Dozens of these vessels operate in the Indian Ocean, targeting skipjack, yellowfin, and bigeye tuna for global markets. Spanish and French tuna companies first introduced purse seine ships to the Indian Ocean four decades ago, rapidly increasing their yearly catch.
Who Profits
Europeche Tuna Group, representing the European tuna industry, affirmed that its relationship with coastal nations reflects "long-term investment" and "strong local partnerships." Spokesperson Anne-France Mattlet stated that the European industry benefits regional economies through taxes, fishing license fees, investments in local infrastructure, and unloading tuna in their ports and canneries. Mattlet confirmed that Europeche operates more than 50 purse seine and supply ships throughout the Indian Ocean, including those flying non-EU flags. This framework presents the extraction of resources as a beneficial economic activity, masking the primary goal of capital accumulation.
Jess Rattle, head of investigations at the Blue Marine Foundation, questioned the true ownership of these vessels, asking, “Were they owned by the coastal states whose quota they were now using, or in fact, were they owned by the EU?” Rattle noted that while fishing under the Seychelles flag is common, registration under Oman and Kenya is a new development in this regulatory arbitrage.
The State's Role
The European Commission, through spokesperson Maciej Berestecki, declared that the reflagging of fishing vessels is a "private business decision not influenced by public authorities." Berestecki asserted that the EU "does not defend or represent the interests of vessels flagged to other countries," despite the clear European ownership. This statement effectively absolves the state of responsibility for the actions of capital operating under flags of convenience, facilitating continued resource exploitation.
The EU has historically clashed with coastal nations seeking greater control over fishing practices in their waters. Five years ago, the Maldives accused the EU of failing to propose serious measures to lower tuna quotas during a contentious meeting, amidst sharp declines in yellowfin tuna stocks. More recently, three years ago, the EU objected to a proposal from Indonesia for a closure on purse seine fishing gear, a measure that passed with the support of 15 other countries, demonstrating the EU's consistent defense of its industry's access to resources.
Liberal Inadequacy
In recent years, the tuna commission implemented new management measures to rebuild vulnerable yellowfin and bigeye tuna stocks. As part of these reforms, the EU agreed to reduce the yellowfin tuna catch for EU-flagged vessels by 21%. However, Glen Holmes, senior officer with Pew Charitable Trusts, noted that these new limits may be pushing European fishing companies to exploit other countries’ quotas to maintain their catch levels, revealing the inherent limitations of reforms that do not address the underlying drive for profit.
Environmental groups, including Pew, Global Fishing Watch, and Oceana, are advocating for greater ownership transparency among fishing fleets. A report this year by Oceana found European companies routinely register fishing vessels under foreign flags, including those of countries the EU has accused of "turning a blind eye to illegal fishing activities." Vanya Vulperhorst, Oceana’s illegal fishing campaign director for Europe, stated that if non-EU flagged vessels are included, "the real European fleet... doubles," highlighting the scale of hidden operations. These "flags of convenience" offer companies low fees and lenient attitudes toward fishing or trade rules, often in countries with fewer resources to enforce maritime laws, enabling further unchecked extraction.