Illegal, unregulated and unprotected (IUU) fishing

Context: The leaders of the Quad nations — Australia, India, Japan and the United States — are reported to be getting ready to unveil a maritime surveillance initiative to protect exclusive economic zones in the Indo-Pacific against environmental damage. This will help establish a tracking system to combat China’s illegal, unregulated and unprotected (IUU) fishing.

The objective of the maritime surveillance initiative

• The aim of the initiative is to push back especially against massive and reckless deepwater fishing by Chinese trawlers in the region.
• The move by the Quad security group is also seen to be aimed at reducing the small Pacific Island nations’ growing reliance on China.

How will the proposed maritime surveillance system work?

• The initiative will use satellite technology to connect existing surve