Beneficial Ownership
National fishing authorities are under increasing pressure to identify the beneficial owners of legal entities operating in the fishing sector, including those holding licenses and quotas, as well as those owning vessels used for fishing, transshipment, or transportation. Typically, beneficial owners are understood as the individuals who ultimately own, have control over, or benefit from a legal entity, such as a company, a trust, a foundation, or other similar legal arrangements. This may differ from the information otherwise provided on legal owners. Obtaining such information has become a key component in the global effort to respond to cases of illegal and unsustainable fishing. It can also be necessary to enforce other laws in the fisheries sector, such as those related to foreign ownership, economic concentration and the commercial interests of politically exposed persons, including their role as fishing agents.
Concerns about data privacy may prohibit governments from providing unrestricted public access to beneficial ownership information. Additionally, what is often not made transparent are the rules and procedures for collating, verifying and using beneficial ownership information in the management of the fishing sector, which could extend to cases where vessels or quotas are leased or where legal entities operating in the country’s maritime jurisdiction are not registered in the country. A lack of transparency prevents public debate on whether such rules and procedures are adequate and likely to be effective.