Managing a Fishy Business: Norwegian Foreign Aid and Its Impact on Global Fisheries Governance and Crime Control in the Global South

Abstract This article examines the role of foreign aid in promoting crime control and governance of fisheries in the Global South, highlighting a notable gap in the criminology literature on crime control transfers from the Global North to the Global South. The study takes inspiration from Cohen’s concept of benign transfer, more recent studies on crime control transfers and green criminology. It examines Norwegian foreign aid for the regulation of fisheries, since Norway is a leading aid-giver and a notable player in global fisheries management. The article demonstrates the interplay between foreign aid, environmental justice and neo-colonial dynamics. Drawing on three decades of foreign aid data and interviews with key stakeholders, it explores the blurred boundaries between crime control and governance. It finds that most aid funding goes to non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which act as intelligence providers for law enforcement in the Global South. Ultimately, the contribution made by this article is to increase understanding of how foreign aid influences crime control frameworks and point to a novel empirical site for crime control transfer literature and its implications for green criminology.