In early 2019, the IUU Fishing Risk Index was launched as a way of benchmarking and ranking countries based on their vulnerability to, prevalence of and response to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

The IUU Fishing Risk Index website provides maps that visualize scores by indicator type and responsibility. It covers all 152 coastal countries of the world and, for each country, a score is calculated based on a suite of 40 indicators. Individual country profiles provide scores for each indicator for the country concerned and show how the country’s scores compare with the average scores for the region and the ocean basin(s) in which the country is located.

The 2025 iteration highlights key issues in combatting IUU:

• There continues to be a lack of reliable estimates of IUU fishing that cover all countries and use a standardized methodology to generate comprehensive and reliable volumes and values for IUU fish catches.
• Despite many recent actions taken internationally, regionally and nationally to combat IUU fishing, malpractice remains a serious concern.
• Incentives for IUU fishing are considerable, given the potential financial benefits for both large- and small-scale fishing operations in both developed and developing countries.

On 24 November at 1:00 p.m. CET, we will host a webinar to officially release the 2025 Index update. The webinar will enable interested parties to learn about the key findings from the 2023 update and discuss other ongoing developments aimed at combating IUU fishing.