The Spanish government has sanctioned 25 Spanish-flagged vessels for turning off their automatic identification systems (AIS).
The vessels were fined up to EUR 60,000 (USD 65,000) each. The fines were meted out after the non-governmental organization Oceana presented a report referencing Global Fishing Watch data showing the sanctioned vessels fishing near Argentina’s exclusive economic zone between 2018 and 2021, and repeatedly turning off their AIS devices without just cause, which is illegal under Spanish and European Union law.
Turning off an AIS hides the activity of the vessel in question, allowing them to cross borders or conduct other sorts of illegal fishing, according to Oceana. The NGO’s 2021 report, “Now You See Me, Now You Don’t: Vanishing Vessels Along Argentina’s Waters,” detailed more than 6,220 instances where fishing vessels on the border between Argentina’s national waters and the high seas deactivated their AIS for more than 24 hours, with 66 percent of those occurrences attributed to Chinese-flagged squid-jiggers.
However, the Spanish-flagged vessels observed in the study went “dark” more than three times as often as Chinese vessels. The Spanish trawlers, which were likely fishing for Argentine hake and red shrimp, spent nearly twice as much time with AIS devices off as on. In total, more than 50 percent of all vessels fishing near Argentina’s exclusive economic zone turned off their AIS for 24 hours or more at least once during the observation period, according to Oceana.
“We welcome the decision of the Spanish administration to take another step in favor of transparency in the fishing sector,” said Ignacio Fresco Vanzini, an advisor to Oceana’s illegal fishing and transparency campaign in Europe. “Those who do not respect the rules should know that their actions have consequences, and in this case, it is in the form of sanctions. The use of automatic identification systems is key to the safety of fishermen, for states to know what is happening in their waters, and to ensure that fishing activities are carried out within the law."
Spain operates the fifth-largest distant-water fleet globally, with 61 trawlers and three longliners in 2017, according to the Stimson Center. Nearly 90 percent of the Spanish-flagged vessels cited in Oceana’s study appeared to turn off their public tracking devices at least once.
Any fishing vessel flagged to an E.U. country that is greater than 49 feet in length must be equipped with an AIS device that can only be turned off in exceptional situations and while following certain rules, like when navigating in areas where piracy could be a problem.
“Oceana applauds this admirable step taken by the Spanish government to take action against vessels that openly flout the rules as if they are above the law,” Oceana Campaign Director Max Valentine said. “Mandating and enforcing the use of AIS devices is crucial to increase the transparency of fishing at sea.”
Oceana said few other countries besides the United States and those in the European Union mandate their flagged fishing vessels operate with AIS engaged. And those that do rarely take enforcement action against rule-breakers, it said.
“Oceana urges the rest of identified countries in its analysis to require automatic identification systems to ensure the safety of fishers on board and expand transparency in fishing,” it said.
Image courtesy of Oceana
