ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the contemporary issue of the nature of fisheries crime, particularly the question of who is the victim of such crime against the backdrop of the nature of res publicae or the doctrine of the public trust as it is known in the United States. This was the central issue in the Bengis case. Relevant to the question of 'victimhood' which is central to this chapter is the fact that Bengis and company were not the only perpetrators of this sophisticated transboundary fisheries crime, which commenced in South African waters and ended up in the South African and New York courts. The chapter focuses on 'victimhood' in the case of res nullius. Before doing so the relevant South African and US legislation is outlined partly to explain how a departure was made from the general rule that criminal prosecutions and accompanying restitution claims cannot be brought extra-territorially.
