PescaDOLUS aims to:
- Be a network for researchers and experts on transnational organised fisheries crime.
- Nurture an environment for the exchange of ideas and producing research on transnational organised fisheries crime.
- Be a bridge and facilitator for multi-disciplinary research into transnational organised fisheries crime.
- Support, promote and build capacity in law enforcement agencies to address transnational organised fisheries crime.
- Provide independent information, expertise and research on transnational organised fisheries crime for civil society and state actors.
These objectives are pursued with a particular emphasis on meeting the needs of developing nations and promoting north-south collaboration.
PescaDOLUS was conceived by a group of international lawyers and academics following an Expert Symposium on Illegal Fishing and Law Enforcement hosted by the Law Faculty of the University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa, in 2013. PescaDOLUS was established in 2014 as a project dedicated to academic research and solutions in the (then) emerging field of fisheries crime at the Institute of Marine and Environmental Law, UCT, with input from a steering committee. The project subsequently relocated to the Public Law department of Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa. In 2017 PescaDOLUS was incorporated as a non profit company under South African law led by a board of Directors. The non profit company follows the missions and objectives of the founding document.
