Senior ministers from France, Ghana, Maldives, Liberia, Panama and the European Commission have pledged strong support for transparency in beneficial ownership of fishing vessels, during an event hosted by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) at the UN Ocean Conference.
The move is seen as a pivotal step toward ending illegal fishing, forced labour and trans-national crime at sea, activities often shielded by opaque ownership structures and shell companies.
“Transparency in beneficial ownership is the leveraging of justice, sustainability and security,” said Steve Trent, chief executive and founder of the EJF.
“It empowers coastal states to enforce their laws, it protects honest fishers from unfair competition and it gives consumers the confidence that the fish they eat was not caught illegally and unsustainably, stolen from coastal communities or fished by forced, bonded or slave labour.”
“The ocean has become a space where illegality thrives unchecked,” said Emelia Arthur, Ghana’s Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture. “Without beneficial ownership transparency, enforcement is a guessing game. With it, we can follow the money and hold the right people accountable.”
Ahmed Shiyam, Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Resources of the Maldives, echoed the sentiment: “Real impact begins at home. Maldives is committed to publishing beneficial ownership data for all licensed vessels.”
The European Commission’s Charlina Vitcheva stressed: “If we want to battle beneficial ownership, we must close all the loopholes. Traceability is the best of transparency.”
From France, Éric Banel called for a global data-sharing framework: “We must begin systematically identifying beneficial owners across PSMA member states and worldwide.”
Liberia’s Maritime Commissioner, Neto Zarzar Lighe Sr, affirmed: “Liberia will not serve as a safe harbour for illegal fishing. We endorse the Global Charter for Fisheries Transparency.”
Panama’s Gerardo Irimia highlighted new national laws requiring disclosure of beneficial owners: “Without this transparency, enforcement punishes the wrong parties.”
