That's interesting! I've never thought about this problem before.

Port State inspections may be carried out on foreign vessels visiting ports of countries that have ratified the Convention. Vessels from countries that have not ratified the Convention also can be inspected.

Maybe I missed it, but I couldn't figure out what country the vessel that was inspected came from.

Taiwan.

2: Oh! Is this a controversy there? Is it possible to enforce these rules even though Taiwan hasn't ratified the Convention?

3: Not to my knowledge, but I assume there are plenty of right-wing assholes in local media. It's part of a bigger conversation about how the country treats migrant workers (the inspection happened after two Indonesian crew complained to their consulate in Cape Town).
Once ratified by a state the Convention becomes local law, enforceable on its territory. The text mentions only port inspections, but under UNCLOS I think those could be extended to cover inspections at sea within the EEZ.

For instance. (Very lefty paper.)

4: Yes, I could picture things getting ugly if a ratifying state tried to inspect a U.S. vessel.

Was the boat from Taiwan, or did it fly under the Taiwanese flag?

This could be an area where the practice of international shipping to fly under the flag of whichever country charges the lowest fees (like Liberia) comes back to bite them.

5: Thanks! Very interesting.

"Increasingly retailers are aware there are risks in seafood in terms of human rights abuses," Schmid says. "We're seeing an increasing questioning in progressive retailers and buyers. I would hope Taiwan would see this as a chance to bridge the gap in their human rights record, as they are seen as a human rights leader in the region."

Is this actually the case? In progressive circles, there is lots of discussion about what fish are ok to eat in terms of environmental issues, but I don't think I've ever heard anyone talk about labor issues.

Liberians don't bite more than other people.

6: IDK. The US observes and enforces all manner of conventions while refusing to ratify them formally. These days of course of the owner just needs to tweet himself at Fox and things will unravel.

8 was me.

7: Both. Do fishing boats fly flags of convenience like cargo ships do? I've never heard of that.

12: I didn't realize there was a distinction in who used them, but it looks like there is. Wikipedia says a majority of merchant ships, vs. "up to 20% of high-seas fishing vessels".

13: I imagine the finances and legalities are profoundly different: insurance, merchant credit, contracts with cargo owners.

WE BITE PLENTY.

4: Yes, I could picture things getting ugly if a ratifying state tried to inspect a U.S. vessel.

If they're in port, I don't see how they'd have much choice. And you could enforce by seizing the vessel, surely.

16: Legally, yes. But if the owner appeals to their non-signatory home country it could become a diplomatic issue, and I don't think fishing has reciprocal enforcement mechanisms the way the WTO does, for instance.

What I mean is, diplomatically, the US certainly reserves the right to inspect foreign flagged vessels for various purposes, so it's not going to get very far complaining about this (though in practice I'd be pretty amazed if many fishing vessels porting in ratifying countries flew under US flags anyway).

My understanding is there is reciprocal enforcement (or at least recognition of foreign enforcement) under various port state control agreements, though of course the US isn't signatory to any of those either.

This thread is surprisingly on topic, so far. Also, I'll be in Houston in November and it'll be the first time I've been in Texas that didn't involve changing planes or long days of driving. I hear Houston is a port.

18: Yes. I don't disagree with you, I'm just saying that continuation of business-as-usual depends basically on Trump not noticing. More long-term, I'd guess PRC vessels will soon be flouting local jurisdictions, with diplomatic support, if they don't already.

I mean, they definitely do already, but that's been in connection with territorial claims in the China seas.

The China Seas: East China Sea, South China Sea, Indian Ocean China Sea, Gulf of California China Sea, Mediterranean China Sea, Great Salt China Sea, etc.

I think I've heard that the De Vos family yacht flies a flag of convenience.

Indeed; their Lake Erie yacht flies the flag of the Cayman Islands.

But when I used a driver's license of convenience to get into bars at 18, it was a whole big crime thing.

25: If you'd used a fake passport from the Cayman Islands you would probably have been fine.

8: Labour issues have come up recently wrt to shrimp farming in SE Asia, i.e. it was done by slaves. I avoid shrimp for this reason.

27: That's good to know.

Some local color, in a mid-sized fishing port. (I don't know why the Filipinos get English.)

I hear William Randolph Hearst had something to do with it.

Consequences .