‘Blue boats’ and ‘reef robbers’: A new maritime security threat for the Asia Pacific?

Abstract

Vietnamese 'blue boats'small wooden-hulled fishing boatsare now entering the territorial waters of Pacific Island countries and illegally catching high-value species found on remote coastal reefs. Crossing several international boundaries and traversing a distance of over 5000 km, these intrusions have alarmed Oceanic countries, including Australia. Lacking administrative capacity as well as jurisdictional authority to effectively control the vast stretches of island coastlines individually, governments and intergovernmental bodies in the region have called for strengthened coordination of surveillance efforts while also pressuring Vietnam diplomatically. This paper reviews these latest developments and is the first to provide a focused assessment of the issue. Through the lens of Copenhagen School of securitisation theory, we analyse responses of national and regional actors and their portrayal in online media to understand how blue boats are constructed as a security threat within a narrative of maritime, food and human security. Arguably, Australia together with the Forum Fisheries Agency, who advise on the governance of offshore tuna resources, have so far acted most decisivelyin a way that might see them extend their strategic role in the region. We propose a comprehensive empirical research agenda to better understand and manage this nascent, flammable and largely unpredictable inter-regional phenomenon.

Advancing Coral Reef Governance into the Anthropocene

“…These changes pose significant risks to land, food, and water security. [17][18][19] In many places, increased conflict over basic land, food, and water resources 20,21 and migration triggered by climate change 22 have the potential to aggravate existing social problems of poverty, urban crowding, and poor public health. 23,24 Helping reefs and reef peoples to navigate these trends is a major governance challenge.…”

“…A variety of novel theories (e.g., behavioral priming) and social engagement tools (e.g., participative scenario building, foresighting, and future prototyping) can enable scientists and policy makers to explore how different conditions, drivers, and decisions shape pathways toward alternate visions of the future. [84][85][86] Adaptation planning is therefore essential to navigate emerging conflicts 20,21 and avoid potentially maladap-tive interventions. 87 Understanding decarbonization and adaptation planning as part of the political economy and intervention mix will be integral to addressing the escalating problems that confront coral reefs (Figure 3).…”

Low fuel cost and rising fish price threaten coral reef wilderness

“…In addition to supply-side strategies, such as through reviewing subsidies toward fishing to prevent costs being externalized (Sala et al, 2018; 4.1 in Figure 5), social factors, such as cultural affiliation toward the resource--such as in New Caledonia particular cultural affinities toward "Dawa" (unicornfish) and "Saumonée" (grouper) (1.3 in Figure 5), and economic factors, such as dependence and export markets (2.1 and 2.3 in Figure 5), or consumer choice (social education-4.3 in Figure 5), can also be leveraged to control fish prices (such as through bans, as in the case of the Philippines Life Reef Fish trade). It is notable though that such measures may increase prices at international destinations, potentially driving increased illegal fishing by extra-national "blue-boats" (wooden boats with blue hulls from Vietnam and other East Asian countries-- Song et al, 2019). At the "access" stage, social and cultural affiliations toward the resource (e.g., determining "who" can fish), end enforcement by government F I G U R E 5 Conceptual diagram of governance interfaces with wilderness resource use.…”

“…These wilderness areas thus offer unparalleled ecosystem conditions to host the most vulnerable species (e.g., mammals and sharks), and can be considered as benchmarks to evaluate conservation efforts (Cinner et al, 2018;Graham & McClanahan, 2013;Myers et al, 2000). However, rapidly growing human population, per capita consumption, and technological advances are driving unprecedented encroachment upon these areas (Abernethy et al, 2013;FAO, 2018;Jones et al, 2018;Parry et al, 2014;Song, Hoang, Cohen, Aqorau, & Morrison, 2019;Tickler et al, 2018).…”

Promoting Cooperation of Monitoring, Control, and Surveillance of IUU Fishing in the Asia-Pacific

“…Illegal activities by foreign fishing vessels often occur in these two countries. One such activity reported is the poaching of coastal resources by unlicensed small wooden boats (so-called blue boats) from Southeast Asia [63,64]. Illegal activities by large vessels reported in Palau include fishing tuna using unauthorized fish aggregating devices offshore and unauthorized transshipment of catch in high seas adjacent to the Palauan EEZ [63].…”