Environmental Justice Foundation

"Leaving such vast trawlers unmonitored opens the door to serious unreported fishing, with potentially devastating consequences for ocean life and coastal fishing communities. Scotland's introduction [of CCTV]... is a decisive step forward." Steve Trent CEO and Founder Environmental Justice Foundation

To ensure fairer competition and protection for fish populations in EU-UK waters, we are calling on the rest of the UK and EU to follow suit and require REM on board all relevant pelagic vessels.

Eyes on the water: Tackling illegal fishing and human rights abuses… Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) and unsustainable fishing places immense pressure on the world’s oceans. These destructive practices go hand in…

As of March 7th, Scotland now requires cameras on board to monitor trawlers in its waters, which is a critical step towards greater transparency at sea.

Cameras on board vessels provide independent, verifiable evidence of vessel activities - what they catch and if they throw anything away.

Why the EU should follow Scotland and require CCTV on ‘supertrawlers’ Ten EU-linked freezer trawlers, all of them so-called supertrawlers over 100m long, spent an estimated 14,530 hours fishing in Scottish waters in the 12…

🚨 EU-owned supertrawlers are fishing without surveillance in Scottish waters 🐟

In our new briefing, we found that ten EU freezer supertrawlers spent an estimated 14,530 hours fishing in Scottish waters - over a year and a half of continuous fishing time - from February 2025-2026.

Read it now 👇

Africa Regional Coordinator Reporting to: Programme Coordinator - Global Toolkit for Participatory Fisheries Governance and the Country Manager/West Africa Regional Manager About the…

🚨 EJF is #Hiring an Africa Regional Coordinator!

We're looking for a highly motivated professional to support all aspects of the Africa component of our EU-funded Global Toolkit project, from day-to-day project administration to supporting strategic planning.

Apply by 6 pm Friday GMT, 20th March:

Deputy CEO EJF is an international organisation with a diverse team working across four continents, united by a shared ambition: to protect people by protecting the…

🚨 Apply for the role of Deputy CEO now!

We’re looking for a values-driven, experienced and confident manager and leader with strategic vision, operational rigour, communications acumen and a deep commitment to justice.

Apply via the form on our job ad by 6pm GMT on Sunday 15th March:

China’s Pacific squid fishery rife with labor, fishing abuses: Report Labor abuses including violence, debt bondage and withheld wages and medical care, overfishing, shark finning, marine mammal killings: A new report exposes bad practices and a weak regulatory framewor...

It’s time to close the gaps that have allowed these abuses to continue.

While the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation Commission meets this week, we call for tighter regulations of this fishery to protect crew and allow ecosystems to recover.

🗞️ Read the article:

Unseen and unaccountable: The growing threat of China’s squid fleet… This report exposes the alarming environmental and human rights toll of China’s distant-water squid fleet in the Southeast Pacific. It draws on…

Our new report draws on interviews with 81 fishers who worked on Chinese vessels.

Their testimonies revealed that labour rights violations and destructive fishing practices are routine - including physical violence, withholding of wages and medical care, and shark finning.

“We usually killed the shark. We took the fins. But I didn’t know where the fins were taken.”

@mongabay.com covered our report “Unseen and unaccountable”, revealing how poor management of the jumbo flying squid fishery in the South Pacific has allowed severe abuses to be committed with impunity.

Doubling down on the fight against climate change is vital to ensure better lives for everyone in the UK and around the world.

Alongside Climate Action Network UK, we're calling on the Prime Minister to fulfil his commitments to climate leadership and those on the frontlines of the crisis now.

UK slashes climate aid programmes for developing countries Exclusive: Schemes worth hundreds of millions of pounds to protect biodiversity and oceans likely to be substantially reduced

We are calling for the wealthiest and largest polluters to pay for climate action - compensation for the damage they’ve caused.

The public is behind these calls. This could fairly generate tens of billions of pounds a year, meaning the UK could substantially increase international climate finance.

86 organisations call on the Prime Minister to increase – not cut – UK climate finance - Climate Action Network UK 86 UK organisations have written an open letter to the Prime Minister calling on the government to increase – not cut – UK international climate finance and

🚨 86 organisations are calling for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to increase, not cut, UK climate finance 💷

Cutting climate finance would be a massive betrayal of countries and communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis and of this government’s manifesto commitments to be a climate leader.

Ocean Campaigner (EU Fisheries Transparency) Ocean Campaigner (EU Fisheries Transparency) Based : London preferred, Brussels will be considered Contract : Full-time, permanent Salary range : £36,000…

📢 We’re #Hiring an Ocean Campaigner to join our team!

They will play a pivotal role in advancing our EU advocacy strategy, helping to ensure that the EU upholds strong fisheries laws grounded in transparency and resists any rollback of standards.

Apply by 6pm GMT on Friday, 20 March:

The High Seas: A Global Deal to Protect Our Oceans YouTube video by Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF)

As the UK edges closer to ratification, we all know how vital it is that it not only has a seat at the negotiating table - but that it leads.

Thank you to @environmentappg.bsky.social for the event. We look forward to continuing to work together towards greater ocean protection!

🌊 The High Seas Treaty is a beacon of hope which shows why multilateralism matters and needs defending.

At @environmentappg.bsky.social's reception last evening, we celebrated this generational opportunity to protect the high seas and ensure that conservation and transparency guide decision-making.

Letter to Commissioner Kadis: Staying your course on combating IUU… This letter urges European Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans Costas Kadis to stick to his commitments to focus on the “gradual but timely and full…

In our letter to Commissioner Costas Kadis, we explain why staying the course is essential to ensure transparency, fair enforcement and EU credibility, at home and globally 📄👇

@wwf.eu @birdlifeeurope.bsky.social @oceanaeurope.bsky.social @clientearth.bsky.social @seasatrisk.bsky.social

The EU Member States have modern tools to fight illegal fishing - over to them to use them This is "The EU Member States have modern tools to fight illegal fishing - over to them to use them" by Environmental Justice Foundation on Vimeo, the…

The EU already has the digital tools to combat illegal fishing, said @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu at UNOC.

Digital catch registration, satellite tracking and robust sanctions can deliver real transparency and a level playing field for fishers, if fully implemented👇

@ec.europa.eu @europarl.europa.eu

[Insight] UK-EU divergence on tackling illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing - IEEP UK Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing refers to fishing activities conducted in contravention of national, regional and international rules and obligations, with serious consequences for m...

The 🇬🇧 "has not kept pace with the EU which has developed and expanded its catch certificates... and carding system."

The UK has the power, opportunity and responsibility to drive change across the global fishing industry. It's time to close the door to illegally-caught seafood.

💡 IEEP's insights:

Since leaving the EU, the UK's seafood import control scheme has fallen behind.

Insufficient implementation and the failure to strengthen its controls in recent years has left UK consumers at risk of buying seafood caught with illegal fishing and human rights abuses.

@ieep-uk.bsky.social ⬇️

Unseen and unaccountable: The growing threat of China’s squid fleet… This report exposes the alarming environmental and human rights toll of China’s distant-water squid fleet in the Southeast Pacific. It draws on…

This webinar will be hosted in collaboration with the Committee for the Sustainable Management of the Southern Pacific Jumbo Flying Squid (CALAMASUR).

Read the report:

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Unseen and unaccountable: The growing threat of China’s squid fleet in the South Pacific. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joi... On the eve of the annual SPRFMO meeting, this webinar will bring leading experts to discuss EJF’s latest investigation findings, identify key gaps in flag-state and SPRFMO regulation, and propose a se...

🚨 Join our webinar today! Learn more about the growing threat of China’s squid fleet in the South Pacific 🦑

We will discuss the findings of our new report "Unseen and unaccountable" and the solutions that can achieve a sustainable, legal and ethical squid fishery.

Time: 15:00 (CET)
Register here:

Call for proposals: Philippines grants EJF is inviting national fisher associations (NFAs) from across the Philippines to apply for a grant under the project, ‘ A Global Toolkit for…

🚨 Call for proposals due next week!

We’re inviting national fisher associations from across the Philippines to apply for a grant under our EU-funded Global Toolkit.

These will aim to help organisations engage in advocacy-related activities that drive fisheries reforms.

Apply by 25 February:

Now is the time for greater political will to close the governance gaps that has allowed this overexploitation to thrive.

By embracing transparency, governments can protect a vital fishery, defend human rights, and secure the future of the Southeast Pacific.

There are global repercussions. Jumbo squid is a keystone species that underpins marine life, and their collapse risks disaster for the wider Pacific Ocean.

We also found that squid caught by a company with severe environmental and human rights abuses has been exported to the USA, EU and the UK.

Unseen and unaccountable: The growing threat of China’s squid fleet… EJF’s latest report, Unseen and Unaccountable , exposes the alarming environmental and human rights toll of China’s distant-water squid fleet in the…

🦑 Unseen and unaccountable: The squid crisis in the Southeast Pacific Ocean

Our new investigation reveals how the keystone jumbo squid fisheries are being pushed to the brink, as China’s massive fishing fleet exploits weak governance, poor transparency and regulatory loopholes.

Read the report:

Letter to Commissioner Kadis: Staying your course on combating IUU… This letter urges European Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans Costas Kadis to stick to his commitments to focus on the “gradual but timely and full…

Why does full implementation of fisheries control matter? Our letter to Costas Kadis explains why strong and fully implemented fisheries controls are essential for transparency, fair enforcement and EU credibility, at home and globally.👇
ejfoundation.org/reports/lett...

We agree with Commissioner Costas Kadis: the revised fisheries control system is a major achievement. Staying the course now is essential to fight hidden overfishing and make fisheries transparent and fair. To lead by example, enforce what was agreed. #StopIllegalFishing @ejfoundation.org 👇

Letter to Commissioner Kadis: Staying your course on combating IUU… This letter urges European Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans Costas Kadis to stick to his commitments to focus on the “gradual but timely and full…

Why does full implementation of fisheries control matter?

✉️ Our letter to Commissioner Kadis explains why strong and fully implemented fisheries controls are essential for transparency, fair enforcement and EU credibility, at home and globally.

@ec.europa.eu @europarl.europa.eu

The EU is poised to RAMP UP its fight against hidden overfishing - will it? This is "The EU is poised to RAMP UP its fight against hidden overfishing - will it?" by Environmental Justice Foundation on Vimeo, the home for high quality…

We agree with Commissioner Costas Kadis: the revised fisheries control system is a major achievement.

Staying the course now is essential to fight hidden overfishing and make fisheries transparent and fair.

To lead by example, enforce what was agreed👇

Adrift: Senegal’s coastal crisis and the deadly route to Europe – an EJF documentary YouTube video by Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF)

We look forward to the final results, and will continue working to build a more sustainable, just world for coastal communities in Senegal.

You can watch our film now: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTCA...

#SmileyCFA26 #charityfilmawards #TheSmileys #CFA26

🎬 “Adrift” is a finalist at the Smiley Charity Film Awards - Thank you to all who voted!

Behind each life lost at sea is a story much like the one told in our film. Your support has made it possible for the reality of Senegal’s coastal crisis and families like Abdou’s to make it to the world stage.