Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is the term given to particular kinds of fishing activity that in some way contravene national or international laws (DAFF, 2019). This activity has numerous environmental impacts, such as depleting fish stocks (especially of vulnerable species) and causing damage to ecosystems. It also impacts both socially and economically, such as through disrupting the livelihood of lawful fishers, removing a source of protein for those who rely on fish for consumption, and diminishing amenity and activity for tourism and recreation. Left unchecked, IUU fishing can create irreversible harms. IUU is largely concealed, with illegal catches easily intermingled with lawful catches, making prevention, detection and thus penalisation difficult. Nevertheless, various laws, treaties and monitoring programmes combined with technological and other surveillance tactics seek to offer some level of traceability and deterrence.

Whilst farming practices (as opposed to hunting and gathering) have existed for eons, by the twentieth century these had evolved in many parts of the world into large-scale commercial enterprises. Contemporary practices incorporate crop and animal specialisation, uniform monocultures, mechanisation of labour, consolidation of farms and market concentration, the application of chemical inputs, and the use of genetically modified crops. Evolving cultural values and political sensibilities mean that modern agriculture is fraught with conflict, with animal welfare and climate change being most prominent. Agriculture broadly and farmers individually can be pre-eminent in environmental harm and crime. Farmers are also victims of the effects of climate change and in some instances are at the forefront of conservation efforts.

Illegal hunting/shooting (and poaching) involves the illegal killing or taking of wildlife. It is a phenomenon which, amongst an array of impacts, has driven some species towards extinction, and can take many forms depending on its location and target. This entry provides a definition of illegal hunting/shooting, placing it within the wider gambit of environmental crimes, and overviews the phenomenon and those involved. The notion of hunters possessing a social licence and their overall motivations are considered, along with consideration of preventive and enforcement measures. Such criminal behaviour is oftentimes difficult to detect and enforce owing to the remoteness of where the offending frequently occurs, and thus there is a lack of both formal and informal guardianship. The entry concludes with a discussion of measures used to promote legal hunting.

Rural criminology scholarship as an area of concentrated study across Oceania is scattered. For work theorising and with an empirical research focus, literature from Australia dominates, although has been somewhat ad hoc with an emphasis on localised case studies as opposed to broader bodies of research. Scholarship pertaining to rurality and crime in New Zealand is yet to emerge, although there has been some work on rural policing specifically. Focused research aimed at developing understandings about rurality and crime in the South Pacific context are not yet visible in existing literature. Adopting a hybridised theoretical approach, this chapter charts the notion of ‘access to justice’ and addresses seven specific access issues throughout Oceania, assessing how access can be conceived, measured and responded to in regional, rural and remote areas. Whilst reflecting on the existing canon of relevant works, the chapter will also look to the future ‘state of the art’, nominating areas for new scholarship pertaining to access to justice across the region.