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