Western Hemisphere Regional Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing Assessment | SFOP0008097

Opportunity Information: Apply for SFOP0008097

The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), announced a discretionary grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number SFOP0008097) to fund a single regional assessment focused on illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the Western Hemisphere. The central goal is to take a hard look at how governments across South America, Central America, and the Caribbean are currently set up to prevent, detect, investigate, and prosecute IUU fishing, with special emphasis on IUU activity linked to malign foreign actors, including state-backed or government-supported fleets and networks. In practical terms, the project is meant to map what tools exist today, where gaps remain, and what kinds of reforms or operational approaches could strengthen enforcement and accountability.

The assessment is expected to examine both law enforcement and legislative approaches. On the law enforcement side, that can include how maritime authorities, coast guards, navies, police, fisheries agencies, prosecutors, and financial investigators coordinate (or fail to coordinate), what investigative authorities and capacities they have, and what barriers limit effective action in territorial seas, contiguous zones, and exclusive economic zones (EEZs). On the legislative side, the work should review whether national laws define and penalize IUU fishing in a way that enables real enforcement, whether evidentiary standards and procedures support prosecutions, and whether there are legal hooks to address related conduct that often comes bundled with IUU fishing.

A major emphasis of the project is identifying other crimes associated with IUU fishing by malign actors. The opportunity specifically calls out corruption and money laundering as examples, signaling that INL is looking beyond fisheries violations alone and wants a more complete picture of the criminal ecosystem that can surround distant-water fishing operations. That could include the movement and laundering of proceeds, bribery that weakens port and customs controls, document fraud, beneficial ownership concealment, shell companies, illicit transshipment practices, and other enabling activities that help illegal catch enter legitimate supply chains or evade scrutiny. The assessment is also expected to gather anecdotes and real-world accounts that illustrate the harms caused by government-backed malign actors engaged in IUU fishing, capturing impacts in human terms rather than only statistics. These anecdotes may cover economic harm to local fishers, food security concerns, environmental degradation, reduced government revenue, intimidation at sea, or broader community-level effects.

The geographic scope is explicitly regional, covering South and Central American countries and Caribbean nations, and focusing on activity in maritime zones where these states exercise sovereignty or jurisdiction (territorial waters and contiguous waters) as well as their EEZs. The subject matter is therefore both transnational and maritime by nature, and the assessment is positioned as a tool to help decision-makers understand patterns, vulnerabilities, and enforcement or legislative gaps that malign actors exploit across multiple jurisdictions.

From an administrative standpoint, the award is a grant with an anticipated single award (Expected Awards: 1) and a maximum funding level (Award Ceiling) of $300,000. The opportunity was created on May 3, 2021, with an original closing date of July 2, 2021. The funding activity category is Law, Justice and Legal Services, and the CFDA number listed is 19.703. Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others," with a note to consult the opportunity text for clarification, implying that the applicant pool may include a range of non-federal entities depending on the detailed eligibility language in the full announcement.

In short, INL is offering up to $300,000 to support one organization in producing a Western Hemisphere-wide assessment that (1) reviews and compares country approaches to enforcement and legislation against IUU fishing, (2) concentrates on IUU fishing tied to malign foreign, potentially state-supported actors operating in national waters and EEZs, (3) surfaces connected criminal conduct like corruption and money laundering, and (4) documents on-the-ground stories that convey the real impacts of these activities on governments and communities across the region.

• The Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics-Law Enforcement in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Western Hemisphere Regional Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing Assessment" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 19.703.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 03, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 02, 2021. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $300,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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