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The Blue Investigations unit exposes and tackles harmful practices affecting our oceans
Distant-water fleets turning off their tracking devices
Blue Investigations has collected data on the misuse of the automatic identification system (AIS) by French and Spanish-owned fishing vessels on the high seas. In 2024, Blue Investigations ramped up its work exposing ‘dark’ fishing fleets. A landmark paper published in 2023 by Blue Marine Senior Legal Counsel Priyal Bunwaree, highlighted the illegality of this behaviour, and Blue Investigations filed several legal complaints at EU and national level and the culpability of firms that insure them. The paper also found that the role insurers must play in curbing this activity is ‘non-discretionary’. The worst-offending vessels are insured in London, leading Blue Marine to submit a formal complaint to the regulators of the UK insurance industry. It argued that insurers enable such vessels by providing cover, and thereby put seafarers’ lives at risk. The story was covered by the Guardian, and we will continue to call the insurance industry to account.
We published results in May 2024 showing Spanish and French tuna vessels turning off satellite tracking for long periods, often in areas where the highest levels of tuna catch have been reported and in apparent contravention of EU, national and international laws. One vessel, owned by Spanish company INPESCA, appeared to go dark in the Indian Ocean for more than 100 days straight. This was reported to the European Commission, which is investigating. We raised this – and the use of harmful fish aggregating devices – in our objections to the certification by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) of two of the world’s largest tuna fisheries. Despite our proof of illegality and disregard for conservation measures, the MSC went ahead with both certifications, further highlighting the need for the reform of seafood eco-labels. We also raised these issues with the insurers of the vessels, and will continue to work with the London insurance industry to ensure that they revoke the cover given to vessels that go dark for months at a time.
Human rights abuses in the Western Pacific
Blue Marine and several partners called for a full and independent investigation into deaths and human rights abuses in the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC). This follows the suspected murder of Eritara Aatii, the eighth fisheries observer known to have died or gone missing in the region since 2009. Blue Marine will continue to push for transparency in the investigation and reporting of these shocking cases. Watch the film here.
Overfishing yellowfin tuna in the Indian Ocean
As well as the high seas, these valuable fish migrate across the jurisdictions of many countries, and their conservation requires international co-operation. However, many of the organisations responsible for these stocks are ineffective, leading to unlawful overfishing. Blue Investigations has been exposing mismanagement by the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission.
In defence of tuna at the European Court of Justice
In February 2024, Blue Investigations partnered with BLOOM to challenge the European Commission in court over its decision to block crucial fisheries management measures for the protection of the marine environment in the Indian Ocean. Our team contends that the objection to this critical measure is in breach of environmental law and the EU’s own commitments to sustainable fisheries.
Lifting the lid on cans
In 2023, we conducted a six-month examination of canned tuna sourcing in UK supermarkets. Our report found that only one top-ten supermarket – Marks & Spencer – could prove that none of its tuna is caught in the Indian Ocean using fish-aggregating devices (FADs). FADs are trackable rafts with long tails that drift for months gathering tuna. Millions of the tuna are juveniles, while the devices also trap sharks and turtles, and are lost or discarded in their thousands, polluting and damaging habitats. We continue to pressure UK retailers to stop selling tuna caught with FADs.
Deep sea mining
Since 2020, Blue Investigations has been looking into deep sea mining. The deep ocean is the largest ecosystem on the planet, making up 95 per cent of all habitable space. With less than one per cent of it explored, it is estimated that two-thirds of its species have yet to be discovered. It also fuels fisheries that feed billions. There is no place on Earth that we know less about, yet this reservoir of biodiversity is at risk of being irreparably damaged by deep sea mining.
Fishing Quota
In the UK, Blue Investigations worked to uncover how the destruction of biodiversity in its waters is being permitted for the benefit of a tiny number of wealthy people. We have investigated who owns what within the quota system, making it clear that the most valuable fishing opportunities have been allowed to become intensely concentrated in the hands of a few companies, leaving stocks overfished and thousands of small-scale fishers with scraps. With a new government in power, the moment is right for this inequity to be addressed and for the UK to be a leader on sustainable fishing.
Tuna fishing: Alex Hofford / Greenpeace
Deep-sea creatures: Alexander Semenov
