Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden.
Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
Sci Adv. 2024 Oct 11;10(41):eadn3874. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adn3874.
A central barrier to effective governance and accountability in fisheries is the limited transparency of corporate ownership. Transshipment-the transfer of catches, fuel, parts, or crew between fishing and cargo vessels known as reefers-is often criticized for its opacity and poor governance. Better insight into the beneficial ownership of vessels involved in transshipment and their operational patterns could lead to more effective management. Our study presents a publicly accessible database of reefers' owners, operators, and flags. We identified 569 individual reefers and found that Russian and Chinese owners control 26 and 20% of the global reefer fleet, respectively. Results also show that 65% of all reefer vessels fly the flags of Russia, Panama, or China. This high level of consolidation suggests considerable leverage for enhancing transparency and governance. Our findings highlight the potential for reforming existing transshipment practices through collaboration among owners, flag states, fishery regulators, and scientists.
渔业有效治理和问责的一个核心障碍是公司所有权的透明度有限。转口运输——在被称为冷藏船的渔船和货船之间转移渔获物、燃料、零部件或船员——因其不透明和治理不善而经常受到批评。更好地了解参与转口运输的船只的受益所有权及其运营模式，可以实现更有效的管理。我们的研究提供了一个公开的冷藏船所有者、运营商和船旗国数据库。我们确定了 569 艘冷藏船，发现俄罗斯和中国的所有者分别控制着全球冷藏船队的 26%和 20%。结果还表明，所有冷藏船中有 65%悬挂俄罗斯、巴拿马或中国的旗帜。这种高度集中表明，在提高透明度和治理方面具有相当大的影响力。我们的研究结果强调了通过所有者、船旗国、渔业监管机构和科学家之间的合作来改革现有转口运输做法的潜力。
