Ian Urbina
@ian_urbina
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I run a journalism non-profit called The Outlaw Ocean Project, which produces stories for venues globally about environmental and human rights abuses at sea.
Washington, D.C.
Joined August 2013
The Crimes Behind the Seafood You Eat: China has invested heavily in an armada of far-flung fishing vessels, in part to extend its global influence. This maritime expansion has come at grave human cost.
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The story we are publishing today is unusually important to us at The Outlaw Ocean Project. Few subjects are more pressing than how the developed world plans to handle the growing waves of people trying to escape the calamities of climate change. #Libya
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In the past several days since our investigation was published by @NewYorker there has been a lot of follow-up coverage and activity. This thread offers some highlights: 🧵
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Over 40 percent of the planet is covered by water governed by no one. http://t.co/iHd66syLc4
http://t.co/m5tDTGk0qQ.
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Extremely proud of this piece as it was quite difficult to produce, but the harrowing testimonies from North Korean workers, and the lapses that they revealed in audits used to inspect for labor abuses in China, were deeply compelling and not previously reported.
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Here, reporting at sea on The Outlaw Ocean in Antarctica. As we drifted by, one guy flips out, sounds the alarm, everyone sprints to the exit, except one clueless straggler. I feel for that straggler.
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It took a while, but The Outlaw Ocean is finally published. Based on 5 years of reporting at sea, it is an exploration of the stowaways, gun runners, poachers, slavers, vigilantes, dumpers and other characters who roam the last untamed frontier.
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I wasn’t aware of @FilmAid until recently; they do incredible work. Big honor, they gave me & The Outlaw Ocean Project team the 2021 Christopher Dickey Award for Journalistic Excellence. Longtime advocate of investigative journalism,@MarkRuffalo presented.
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For all the recent attention on guns, there has been far less focus on ammunition. Without bullets, however, a gun is a useless piece of metal. Here is the first piece in a line of coverage called American Ammo.
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Over the past year, The Outlaw Ocean Project worked quietly with @NBCNews and a satellite firm called @GlobalFishWatch to conduct an investigation revealing the largest fleet of illegal fishing ships ever discovered.
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We created several useful tools from our investigation of China and human rights/environmental concerns in the global seafood supply chain. Have a look at this thread 🧵
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Shouldn't the Outlaw Ocean reporting be a podcast series? Yes. Most definitely. And now, finally, it is. The first episode drops Monday. Join us for an epic journey spanning both poles, all seven oceans and more than three dozen countries.
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@seashepherd planned to sweep the Southern Ocean and find the Japanese fleet on their course to Antarctic waters. Then these advocates intended to prevent the harpoon ships from transferring their catch onto the Nisshin Maru.
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Europe has always insisted it does not directly fund detention centers in Libya. It seemed like a cynical semantic game. But how to prove it? For our Aliou Candé investigation, we needed to connect the EU funding to its end uses by authorities in Libya. #Libya #EUTrustFund
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The high seas are like the wild west. “Weak rules, few sheriffs, lots of outlaws.” http://t.co/lfnFDqoYiA
http://t.co/NDH9NAzeIq.
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To have impact, the investigation needed to be seen globally. This is how we created a collaboration that led to more than 114 news outlets running or covering the reporting in 16 languages and 35 countries.
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Seafood traceability. Will it track just illegal fish or abused workers too?
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Our investigation of the global seafood supply & China's role in it was fairly sprawling. To make it easier for reporters, advocates, lawmakers and industry to digest it all, we have published the "Findings" tool that simplifies the material. See:
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Ghost nets aren’t supernatural, but they are legitimately scary. A ghost net is a fishing net that’s been lost or abandoned in the ocean. Any net or line left in the ocean can pose a threat to marine life entangling sea turtles, dolphins, birds and more.
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I’m suspecting my mom may have sold the house to make this happen: #TheOutlawOcean just made The @nytimes Best Seller List in its first week since publication. #ThanksMom
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Yes, illegal fishing was a major reason that roughly 90% of the world’s fish stocks were almost fully collapsed. But the depletion of fish stocks was not something that a typical consumer could ever notice on land, walking the aisles of extravagantly well-stocked grocery stores.
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Thanks @PeteButtigieg for the kudos on the book.
.@PeteButtigieg plays "personal issues" on @TheIssueIsShow & we learn his current favorites in Washington D.C.:. TV show: @RickandMorty "Planets Only".Book: "The Outlaw Ocean" by @ian_urbina .Music: @radiohead .Workout: Biking & Running . Full Interview:
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The Thunder was Interpol’s most wanted scofflaw ship, evading capture for years. That was until @SeaShepherd decided to take matters into their own hands and do what governments had failed to do. #TheOutlawOcean
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Note: Tomorrow I testify before Congress about The Outlaw Ocean. The testimony will be at 2 pm during the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's hearing "Oversight of the @NOAA's Report on Illegal, Unreported, & Unregulated Fishing." Live here:
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The investigation that we began publishing last night took tireless work from legions of tireless people from The Outlaw Ocean Project and The @NewYorker. Thank you to this incredible team, many of which are tagged in this post & in the comments below.
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Seafarers bring us 90% of what we consume. Their lives, labor, peril rarely make news. http://t.co/lfnFDqoYiA
http://t.co/OIYTQejzwk.
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Exciting news: The Outlaw Ocean Project has won The 2024 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights journalism award in the International Print category for work published in collaboration with the @NewYorker, a series titled "China: The Superpower of Seafood."
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“Squid Fleet” juxtaposes fictionalized narration with real footage from our trips boarding squid vessels to capture a strange world that few outsiders get to see:
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Amazing. The Outlaw Ocean Project has won the 2024 Overseas Press Club award for the "Best investigative reporting in any medium on an international story" for a series that we published with the @NewYorker. Highly prestigious and incredibly competitive, the OPC award is most
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Why for the past 5 years has there been an average of one dead body per month showing up on fishing ships in the Port of Montevideo, Uruguay? See new report from @oceanosanos: #IUU #HumanRights
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In December 2014, the longest pursuit of an #illegalfishing vessel in nautical history began. @SeaShepherd pursued the Thunder in a chase that spanned 110 days, across more than 11,550 nautical miles, crossing three oceans and two seas. #TheOutlawOcean
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Popular tourist island #Palau just announced that all visitors now have to sign an eco-pledge stamped in their passports as they clear immigration. It's a promise to care for Palau's vulnerable environment:
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Invisible, undocumented migrants vanish on “ghost ships” to catch fish fed to cats and dogs. http://t.co/3Ykit6Nu5g
http://t.co/BsifS0Jv3V.
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Using pre-existing satellite location technologies, @GlobalFishWatch is developing a system that can identify boats around the world. This artificial intelligence (AI) will analyze vessel movements to determine whether or not they are acting illegally.
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This was exactly our hope: Industry reporters would mine our Bait-to-Plate and Discussion tools for the sake of writing smart follow-up stories detailing the investigation findings and what companies said in response to us. See Undercurrent News: .
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Congrats to @NewYorker and @michaelluo for their work w/ us on this investigation that just won the Al Neuharth Innovation in Investigative Journalism Award @ONA.
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Invisible, undocumented migrants vanish on “ghost ships” to catch fish fed to cats and dogs. http://t.co/c7lSJCxO6w
http://t.co/BdlzHGSzpr.
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The "magic pipe" polluting the open ocean from lawless ships. http://t.co/kBqCa4gRrS
http://t.co/67jGakTv0b.
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I was determined–perhaps too determined–to witness @seashepherd's chase of the Thunder, Interpol’s most wanted poacher ship and the longest pursued #illegalfishing vessel in nautical history. It just had to be the first chapter of my book #TheOutlawOcean:
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One of the world's most infamous #IUUFishing tycoons has been been fined €8.2 million in #Spain (via @seashepherd)
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40 miles offshore in Sibuyan Sea, fishermen told their trafficking stories.
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Now that the dust has settled, I want to flag an unusual accomplishment: Season 1 of The Outlaw Ocean Podcast has won 3 major journalism prizes. You can listen to the 7 episodes here:
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Cadaver returns from sea, missing organs, slashed, to a village full of trafficking stories.
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Indonesia's Minister of Fisheries announces she will issue an order to sink 100 vessels accused of #IUUfishing:
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A first set of reactions from U.S. lawmakers about The Outlaw Ocean Project's investigation.
Some U.S. lawmakers are calling for more restrictions on seafood imports from China following an investigation exposing grave human rights abuses throughout the country’s fishing industry.
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What happens when violent crimes occur at sea? http://t.co/IkElNP5g7O
http://t.co/xFZuAMXBhm.
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One of the more intense chapters in the book concerns what became the longest law-enforcement chase in nautical history. Vigilante ocean conservation group @seashepherd was pursuing a ship that Interpol had indicated was top of the list among illegal fishing scofflaws.
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After 3 more years of reporting at sea I will soon begin sharing the next round of stories from The Outlaw Ocean. I am thrilled to announce the book is available here: Purchasing now is a first-day sale, which helps build momentum on bestseller lists.
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After a year of drifting at sea, 3,500 tuna were released after being illegally stored in two cages attached to boats in Malta. The EU accused Malta of neglecting multiple regulations, citing this specific incident.
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American Ammo: Without bullets, a gun is a harmless piece of metal. The idea of achieving better gun control through tighter regulation of ammo is not new. Here are highlights of when this notion has been floated in the past.
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I'm deeply afraid of 3 things: rats, snakes and NYT book reviewers. But for now, it looks like I've escaped one of them unscathed. The New York Times Book Review of The Outlaw Ocean just published.
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This previously invisible armada - roughly 800 Chinese squid ships - were fishing in N Korean waters in violation of UN sanctions & their presence partly explains why in the past 5 years 100s of dead bodies have washed up along Japan's coast. Read more:
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How can container ships kill fewer blue whales? Drive slower. http://t.co/nOlxgMwI7h
http://t.co/FcfbI05PXx.
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It’s a tragedy to see Japan’s withdrawal from the IWC. In reporting #TheOutlawOcean book project, I followed @seashepherd in the search for whale hunters aboard the Nisshin Maru, which was at the time, Japan’s last factory #whaling ship: (via @CNN)
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Time magazine: Is there something rotten in global seafood?.
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Seafood Source: "Bombshell Outlaw Ocean report finds evidence of seafood processed by forced labor in US supply chain".
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Join me at the IUU Fishing Conference on Wednesday, February 3rd. Experts will discuss the regional implications of #IUUFishing and prospects for this global problem. Free & open to the public, also in Spanish & Portuguese. Register for #IUUFCon2021 at
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In our new investigation, The Outlaw Ocean Project talks to dozens of migrants, officials, and aid workers in Libya, exposing the brutal conditions at Al Mabani and revealing the scope of the E.U.’s secretive migrant detention system. Read more here:
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Wow! Can’t believe we’re finally here. The book is out today. Excited to get everyone’s reactions. The feeling is a bit like childbirth, glad to have it over, but also exhilarating to have it out in the world.
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A @seashepherd chase of Japanese whalers was more about force than enforcement, and their willingness to take matters into its own hands since governments wouldn’t. This tactic is called the ‘can opener’ – a dodgy scramble used to cripple the Nisshin Maru:
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Are the world's oceans a failed state? .Experts debate, see here: http://t.co/7BLNlw3SGZ
http://t.co/dPwTKv3QZu.
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Barefoot, Cambodian boys work on "ghost ships," sliding on fish innards, ducking tackle. http://t.co/C7D7C7RTMq.
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Marine police or hijacker? Fisherman or trafficker? At sea, little is as it first appears. http://t.co/kBqCa4ysQs
http://t.co/ZVhfCqgUW6.
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Huge honor here for me and The Outlaw Ocean Project team for winning a George Polk Award in International Reporting for the investigation we did in Libya with The New Yorker Magazine:
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Very exciting news.
The Outlaw Ocean by @ian_urbina (@PenguinBooks/@randomhouse) has been shortlisted for the Mountbatten Award for Best Book. #Maritime #Literary #MaritimeMediaAwards2019
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Death, Debt and Recruitment Trickery. A story about human trafficking in the maritime world.
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Each time I think my team has successfully tackled a harder story an even tougher one rolls up. Case in point: this epic investigation that we just published about an unusually brave whistleblower in India & what we found in the massive trove of documents he provided us.
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As IUU fishing by industrial fleets continue to destroy local ecosystems, a study suggests small-scale fishers may resort to piracy as an alternative means of making money & to deter such ships from operating in their waters, according to Live Science.
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So, after 17 years on staff at the NYT, I’ve moved to being a contract writer for them so I can start producing content for other venues as well. Today, @TheAtlantic announced the following:
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Communication between @seashepherd and the Thunder was conducted through possibly the most ocean-centred method: a message in a bottle. “We have no intentions of putting you in trouble,” the note said. Here's one bottle going over. #TheOutlawOcean
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Musicians and journalists are both storytellers. One uses sounds, the other leverages words. The Outlaw Ocean Music Project brought them together to meld their crafts and translate journalism into music:
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Demand for canned tuna products is surging, but allegations of horrific abuse persist - including human trafficking, debt bondage, withheld wages, physical & sexual abuse, extreme sleep deprivation, medical neglect & even murder. Read more from @BHRRC:
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Indonesia blows up at illegal fishing - and sinks the notorious fishing vessel, the Viking.
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.@_AfricaTimes: An effort between @seashepherd and the Liberian government has led to 3 arrests for #IUUfishing
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Working 20 hour days, the crews on Thai fishing boats are especially busy at night when the small silver fish they target are easier to spot in dark waters. Fatigue & infections are common. The Cambodian deckhands described how their hands never dry and open wounds rarely closed.
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One of the main reasons I was drawn to Somalia was that success stories about combating illegal fishing are hard to find. The Gulf of Aden which is a stretch roughly 550 miles long & 200 miles wide between Yemen & Somalia, is home to two of the most chaotic places on the planet.
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As I traveled and collected stories about maritime captivity, I came to realize that people end up at sea one of two ways: the lure of the ocean draws them, or they’re taken there involuntarily. Many are part of the darker latter.
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Thus it begins! Nervous. Excited. Not sure if I want no one to come or lots of people to show up.
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The five years I spent reporting on The Outlaw Ocean put me in constant motion – an experience at once disorienting and sublime. During this time, I was struck by a central paradox: the ocean is as large as it is small.
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Aboard a roach and rat infested fishing boat, Cambodian boys catch cheap fish to feed pets. http://t.co/c7lSJCxO6w
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A smart new study featured in Fish & Fisheries found that in the last 8 years the use of fishing vessels in drug trafficking globally has tripled. This report reveals that from 2010-2017 $16.5 billion worth of drugs, was handled illegally on these ships.
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Why are 23 of the poorest counties in the US paying for the most expensive plant in history that's still not online?
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The wonders never cease. I was asked to testify before Congress this week, specifically to present the findings of The Outlaw Ocean. Here is a short clip from the hearing:
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I'm collaborating with @oceanographic_mag on a series of articles about what I have learned from years reporting offshore. The first article in the series will be about how violence at sea is predominant, its causes and the reasons we have for hope.
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As discussed in The Outlaw Ocean millions of sharks are killed by human impacts such as IUU fishing and shark finning. @seashepherd has been awarded over $2 million to help establish Africa's first shark sanctuary.
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Now, the Arctic is under an environmental attack. In 2010 @Greenpeace took on BP, the owner of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico & caused the largest oil spill in American history. For months after the explosion, BP struggled to cap the well.
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A "dark fleet" of nearly 1,000 industrial-sized Chinese fishing boats is illegally poaching fish on an industrial scale. But it is not the world's only one. Here is a piece I co-wrote for @TheEconomist:
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The @guardian's review: “an outstanding investigation…Little wonder the stories he tells have not been told before…Urbina lifts the thick veil on a global criminal culture, at just the moment when the damage inflicted on the oceans is becoming terminal.”
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Off the coast of Italy, cruise ships are being repurposed as holding pens for migrants rescued from the Mediterranean. No journalist had previously been allowed on board any of these vessels. Read more in my recent piece for @TheAtlantic here:
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Stunning photos: “The Terrible Beauty of Glaciers Melting and Oceans Rising” http://t.co/n6yl6Oafeh
http://t.co/b4P3sAtQLz.
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Ships intentionally dump more oil in 3 years than BP and Exxon Valdez disasters combined. http://t.co/lfnFDqoYiA
http://t.co/IUqkxmswEP.
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Most of us are thrilled to see 2020 go. This year I was nervous about whether I could convince editors at outlets to publish The Outlaw Ocean Project's reporting. The good news: Many did - including The Economist, BBC, Der Spiegel, The New Yorker, NBC News, & The Washington Post.
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Fisheries subsidies, which often help fund industrial fleets, are "a key driver of global overfishing" and marine destruction, making transparency and the creation of international regulations vital, according to @annareema for @SynchEarth.
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Floating Sea Wall design gives hope of harvesting wave power in the Netherlands.
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Some innovative fishing-sector news - a Finnish start-up has released Dark Vessel Detection, a new technology that uses synthetic-aperture radar combined with AIS transponders to help governments track ships engaging in illegal activity.
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Following Greenpeace Southeast Asia's recent report detailing the issue of forced labor in the region, 24 signatories have sent a letter to the Bureau of International Labor Affairs. This letter demanded action against forced labor in the fishing sector.
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