IUU Fishing Risk Index
This layer shows the risk of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing for each coastal country.
Category: Transition risks · Overexploitation Coverage: Global (152 coastal countries) Format: Boundary polygons (country level) Used in risk analysis: Yes — gates Overexploitation
What it shows
This layer shows the risk of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing for each coastal country. It helps identify regions where illegal fishing poses the greatest threat to marine biodiversity and to sustainable fisheries management, making it relevant to overexploitation and marine-pressure screening.
How it is built
The layer is based on the IUU Fishing Risk Index, which assesses each coastal state's exposure and response to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. It covers 152 countries worldwide for the year 2025. Each country is assigned to one of five risk categories. The data is presented at national level, so the whole of a country's mapped area carries a single risk class.
How to read it
Countries are colour-coded from very low risk (green) through to very high risk (red), across five categories. A higher category means a greater assessed risk of illegal fishing activity associated with that country. Because the layer is national in scale, it indicates country-level exposure rather than the location of specific fishing activity.
Source
IUU Fishing Risk Index (Global Fishing Watch and Trygg Mat Tracking), 2025.
Comparison with the WWF Risk Filter Suite
This is a marine pressure indicator related to WWF's marine themes, but it is not the same as the WWF Biodiversity Risk Filter S1_3 Marine Fish Availability indicator (which Darwin does not cover). It signals the risk of illegal fishing pressure rather than measuring fish-stock availability, so it complements rather than replaces a WWF indicator.
Risk analysis
A site is flagged on a dimension by combining a proximity trigger (this layer) with an activity trigger (the entity's ENCORE pressure/service). Proximity only → Potentially material; proximity and the matching ENCORE pressure/service is material → Very material; neither → Not material.
| Dimension | ENCORE service / pressure | Proximity trigger (this layer) | Activity trigger (entity) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overexploitation | Other biotic resource extraction (e.g. fish, timber) | Layer value above 3 | “Other biotic resource extraction (e.g. fish, timber)” pressure ≥ 4 |
Legend
Symbolised field: IUU Risk Classification
| Class | Colour |
|---|---|
| Very low (< 1.9) | #2ecc71 |
| Low (1.9 - 2.1) | #90ee90 |
| Medium (2.1 - 2.3) | #f39c12 |
| High (2.3 - 2.6) | #e67e22 |
| Very high (> 2.6) | #e74c3c |
Generated from darwin/layers/layer-iuu-fishing-risk-index.toml and risk_indicator_pairs.toml (develop).