Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Jane Broweleit is a PhD candidate with the ACE CRC through the Institute of Antarctic and Southern Ocean Studies (IASOS) at the University of Tasmania. She is supervised by Dr Julia Jabour (IASOS/ACE), Associate Professor Marcus Haward (School of Government/IASOS) and Dr Robert Hall (School of Government).

Her PhD topic concerns illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the Southern Ocean and asks, "What change can be effected through the marketplace?"

Plummeting world fish stocks (particularly that of big whitefish species like tuna) and savvy marketing created a lucrative niche that allowed commercial exploitation of Patagonian Toothfish and its concomitant IUU trade to begin in force about a decade ago. As many Patagonian Toothfish stocks in the subantarctic dry up commercially, both legal and illegal fishing operations are looking further south, into jurisdictionally murky waters such as the high seas or waters regulated by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).

No magic bullet exists that will solve the problem of IUU fishing in the Southern Ocean. In order to reduce or eliminate the problem, a number of factors must be in play, with force and at the same time. These include international law and diplomacy, pelagic monitoring and surveillance, enforcement of CCAMLR regulations, increased responsibility in flag states (where flags and fishing responsibilities are bought), enforcement in port states (where legal and illegal catches are landed), and tracking and education in markets (countries and regions catch is imported to, exported from and eaten in).

Jane's dissertation will explore the marketplace - where consumer-oriented measures might be brought to bear in an attempt to apply enough heat to illegal fishing operations, or dry up enough of the profits from IUU fishing, to force operators to abandon their expensive trade. It will also explore ways that public and private enterprises can work together to eliminate the market for illegally harvested fish.

More information:

Ph: +61 400 991 519 or janeb3@utas.edu.au