Fisheries law enforcement, from investigation to judgement, continues to be an expensive and lengthy process in many jurisdictions. Many countries - particularly developing countries - experience such a significant backlog of pending trials for conventional criminal offences that dealing with fisheries offences is not a priority.

This study suggests considering the use of administrative sanctions as a direct response to the problem and examines the administrative systems for dealing with fisheries offences in a diverse range of countries from different legal systems. It is intended to assist states in identifying the issues they need to take into account when considering the adoption of such a scheme. It is expected that the study will be especially valuable to developing states seeking to adopt a cost effective means of dealing with illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, but which nonetheless wish to ensure that the basic individual rights of the accused are protected.