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The illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in Kuwait: Problems and solutions

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Mohammad Alqattan, Professor Tim Gray, Professor Selina Stead

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Abstract

© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. Kuwait is a country with an emerging economy that could benefit hugely from investment in its marine fisheries production. However, the country is constrained by several problems which affect the health of its coastal fish stocks. Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing is the most serious of these problems because it reduces fish stock levels. In this study, we analyze IUU fishing in Kuwaiti waters, and assess its impact on fish stock levels and consequent damage to the marine economy and environment, as well as its implications for the security system and the integrity of governance in the country. The research methods used in this study include key informant interviews, information obtained from some illegal fishers themselves, documentary data collected from Kuwaiti public authorities, and peer-reviewed literature. The main finding of the study is that IUU fishing in Kuwaiti waters not only threatens the health of the country's marine fish biomass but raises questions about Kuwait's immigration policy, the effectiveness of its border controls, and the way its decision-making processes are manipulated by groups who influence decision-making and large private companies which break fishing.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Alqattan MEA, Gray TS, Stead SM

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Marine Policy

Year: 2019

Volume: 116

Print publication date: 01/06/2020

Online publication date: 20/12/2019

Acceptance date: 28/11/2019

ISSN (print): 0308-597X

ISSN (electronic): 1872-9460

Publisher: Elsevier Ltd

URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2019.103775

DOI: 10.1016/j.marpol.2019.103775

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