Evaluation framework for regulatory requirements related to data recording and traceability designed to prevent illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing

In 2001 FAO published the “International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing”. Based on this plan, national and supranational authorities have developed legislation to fight the so called IUU fishing. A key aspect of the legislation proposed so far is the mandatory recording of some data elements and the requirement that these data should be available for access through a traceability system. This article outlines a general framework for evaluation of these types of requirements, using a predictor-outcome N-way matrix. A “good practise” system is described, against which the existing systems and practises can be evaluated. The framework can be used to assess if the regulatory requirements ensure that the relevant IUU fishing identification data are made available, and it can also be used to evaluate the requirements imposed on the traceability system.