Enforcement in the Southern Ocean: Legal Issues for Fishery Protection Operations around Antarctica

In recent years, concerns about illegal, unauthorised and unreported

("IUU") fishing have increased, and States have been placed

under pressure to take action to prevent IUU fishing in the waters

under their jurisdiction2. From the late 1990s, Australia made substantial

efforts to prevent IUU fishing for Patagonian toothfish in the

waters around its sub-Antarctic islands3, including extensive fisheries

patrols and the conclusion of two landmark agreements with the

French for cooperation in intelligence and enforcement in the waters

around their possessions in the southern Indian Ocean4.