Regional fishery management organisation measures and the imposition of criminal and administrative sanctions in respect of high seas fishing

Doctrinal arguments and two examples illustrating the practice of the Spanish courts highlight two risk factors that can undermine the effectiveness of enforcement actions by States in matters involving high seas fishing. Firstly, the absence from treaty law of clearly defined conduct standards and unequivocal criminal enforcement routes to provide a positive basis for the exercise of extraterritorial criminal jurisdiction. Secondly, the transcendence of individual rights and constitutional principles enshrined in domestic constitutional and European Union law and safeguarded by national courts, and their potential for tension with international fisheries conservation objectives. Through a brief analysis of those tensions, the article leads to a reflection on the relevance of legal security considerations to inform the development of international and regional legal frameworks and decision-making mechanisms for addressing high seas illegal and unregulated fishing.