Over recent years, importance has been attributed to the application of criminal sanctions in the fight against IUU fishing due to the seriousness of the threat it represents for the conservation of marine living resources. This trend towards the criminalisation of certain activities related with IUU fishing has given rise to the appearance of the notion of fisheries crime, which is increasingly employed in certain international forums. However, from a legal point of view, this term does not define a new type of crime applicable to fisheries activity. Rather, it seeks to demonstrate that certain fishing-related offences are criminal in nature. Thus, it is important to define the scope of this notion of fisheries crime in order to determine what criminal offences are included within this category. Depending on its degree of connection with fisheries activity, fisheries crime covers three separate categories of crimes: the crime of illegal fishing, illicit fisheries-related crimes and crimes committed in the context of the fisheries sector.

近年来，由于刑事制裁对海洋生物资源保护造成的严重威胁，因此在打击 IUU 捕捞活动中的应用受到重视。这种将某些与 IUU 捕捞有关的活动定为犯罪的趋势导致了渔业犯罪概念的出现，该概念越来越多地被某些国际论坛采用。但是，从法律的角度来看，该术语并未定义适用于渔业活动的新型犯罪。相反，它试图证明某些与捕鱼有关的罪行具有犯罪性质。因此，重要的是确定渔业犯罪这一概念的范围，以确定该类别中包括哪些刑事犯罪。