Oman has struck off a fleet of vessels that has been fishing illegally across the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean from its registry. The decision follows years of investigations conducted by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), a non-governmental organisation based in the United Kingdom, and will severely restrict the ability of the fleet to carry out further illegal fishing.

The decision follows years of investigations conducted by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), a non-governmental organisation based in the United Kingdom, and will severely restrict the ability of the fleet to carry out further illegal fishing.

‘The pressure EJF has been putting on the Israr fleet, a fleet found to be fishing illegally, has won a key victory,’ stated EJF.

On July 13, Oman informed the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission that it would delete the vessels from its registry, as ‘the documentation submitted by owners about the previous history of the vessels was not satisfactory, together with all other evidence collected by all the fisheries departments involved’.

EJF stated that the vessels will now have to look elsewhere for their flag and permits. ‘Oman’s government should be applauded for taking a stand against illegal fishing, and other governments must not let this fleet register with them to recommence their destruction of our precious ocean.’

The foundation further said that it was pleased to see Oman recognise the severity and scale of the fleet’s illegality, and act in such a decisive way. ‘This case sets a strong precedent for national governments to take action to end illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing,’ it added.

EJF stated that it is not going to let the Israr fleet off the hook, and that its investigators are continuing to track the vessels as they move around the globe, sharing intelligence with relevant authorities to keep the pressure on the illegal fleet.

‘However, while this is a major step forward, it is still just three fishing vessels, and ending illegal fishing globally through multi-year investigations like this would be impossible.’

“We applaud Oman for its decision following our years of painstaking investigations into the Israr fleet. We hope that Oman will be part of a larger movement to put an end to illegal fishing, and that more governments take the same step to ban such vessels,” said Max Schmid, COO of EJF.