Groundbreaking study identifies key players in global seafood transshipment

The study highlights that only 324 owners are responsible for global seafood transshipment, with significant contributions from China, Russia, and Greece. “This is a major step towards greater transparency,” said Frida Bengtsson, lead author from the Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University. Reefers play a vital role in the seafood industry, handling nearly a third of the global tuna catch, valued at about £10.4 billion annually. Transshipment involves not just transferring fish but also personnel, spare parts, and fuel between fishing vessels and reefers. This process has often been linked to illegal activities, as it can enable the transfer of illegally caught fish and obscure the origins of seafood. While monitoring fishing activities at sea was previously challenging, advancements in satellite data now allow researchers and the public to track vessel movements. However, the ownership of reefers has remained a crucial missing piece in the transparency puzzle. ...