Portugal has 5 fishing vessels under a high-risk flag
BRUSSELS – Portugal is one of the European Union (EU) Member States with ships operating under the flag of high-risk countries with regard to illegal fishing, according to what the environmental non-governmental organization (NGO) Oceana releases today.
In a report released today, Oceana states that, out of a total of 105 vessels owned by 16 Member States and registered in 20 high-risk jurisdictions, 73 are from Spain, followed by Portugal and Lithuania (five each).
In Portugal there are four ships registered in Panama and one in Sierra Leone.
The 105 vessels are owned by citizens or companies domiciled in 16 EU Member States and 33 of these vessels are authorized to export their catches directly to the EU.
On the other hand, of the 20 high-risk countries identified in the study, 15 exported seafood to the EU in 2024, representing 601,732 tons of imports of these products, with Russia at the top (almost 209 thousand tons, 764 million euros), followed by Ecuador (190.5 thousand tons, 905 million euros) and the Faroe Islands (109 thousand tons, 695 million euros), with Portugal importing from the first two.
Vessels flying the flag of countries such as Panama, Belize, Senegal and Ecuador are authorized to export their catches directly to the EU, which indicates “the potential involvement of EU owners operating from jurisdictions with weak fisheries controls, inadequate labor protections or permissive tax regimes, thus increasing the risk of products from illegal fishing entering EU supply chains,” the NGO highlights.
For Oceana, the EU must ensure that its own citizens are not involved in illegal fishing activities.
“Knowing who owns and who profits from fishing vessels is essential to enforcing the EU’s zero-tolerance policy on illegal fishing and to protecting coastal communities around the world, EU consumers, as well as the European market,” said, in a statement, the director of Oceana’s campaign against illegal fishing and for transparency in Europe, Vanya Vulperhorst.
The environmental organization also wants the European Commission to strengthen monitoring and enforcement mechanisms and investigate “ownership links between EU citizens and foreign-flagged vessels, giving priority to those operating under flags of convenience or associated with risks of illegal fishing.”
One of the initiatives to reduce illegal fishing is the traceability of activity along the supply, production and sales chain. (20/01/26)
