Go fish if need be! But, please, do so legally

Chinese people love fish, and both the demand and consumption of fish are on the rise. Which is good, because fish is high in protein and low in fat, and fish help to feed a hungry world while providing livelihoods for hundreds of millions of people across the Asia-Pacific region. But, ironically, this increase in demand has also created opportunities for criminals to make a profit.

While most of the region's fishing fleets operate within the rules, some $5 billion worth of fish are caught either illegally or without being reported, or the fishing boats operate in an unregulated environment. That's bad news on a number of levels.

While illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is a global problem, the situation is disproportionately worse in the Asia-Pacific, because the region produces 75 percent of the world's seafood and IUU fishers target countries with poorly developed economies and regulations, which are also home to some of the most vulnerable communities.