Valeije Álvarez, Inma2022-11-092022-11-092023Marine Policy 147 (2023) 105327http://hdl.handle.net/10347/29385This contribution offers a critical reflection on fisheries crime as described in the Spanish Penal Code. It sets out the reasons why its treatment is considered ineffective, and why the administrative offences and sanctions provided for in Law 3/2001 on Maritime Fisheries are more effective and dissuasive. However, it also considers that a legislative policy relying on the severity of administrative sanctions for its effectiveness may be counterproductive. The most recent judgements of the ECtHR consider that a disproportionate administrative sanction is equivalent to a penalty and should therefore be imposed with the same procedural and substantive safeguards. Finally, it is concluded that in order to avoid impunity for serious crimes in the field of IUU fishing activities, often managed by transnational and organised criminal networks with links to other criminal activities, the contribution of criminal jurisdiction is essential. Therefore, a reform of the Spanish Criminal Code is required, extending the conducts punishable as fishing crimes, increasing the penalties and establishing the criminal liability of legal personseng© 2022 The Author. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync-nd/4.0/)Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacionalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Illegal fishingIUU fishingFisheries crimeAdministrative sanctions relating to fishingAccessory penaltiesGreen criminologyjournal article10.1016/j.marpol.2022.1053270308-597Xopen access