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Increasing the Legal and Operational Capacity to Combat IUU Fishing - GCP/INT/321/EC

Year of publication 2023

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 2

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Project

Synopsis (short abstract) Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing undermines national and regional efforts to conserve and manage fish stocks and, as a consequence, inhibits progress towards achieving the goals of long term sustainability. It deprives the poorest and most food insecure people, who depend on fisheries as a critical source of income and livelihood, puts further pressure on the sustainability of marine ecosystems and constitutes both an impediment and a deterrent to private sector development. Despite strong political will at different levels, the introduction of effective measures to tackle IUU fishing has been slow throughout most regions and in many developing countries. While many States have basic fisheries legislation in place, they often lack the enabling policies, laws and regulations to effectively prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing. The present project, part of FAO’s Global Programme to support the implementation of the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA) and complementary international instruments to combat IUU fishing, aimed to improve the capacity of the target countries for the effective implementation of port State measures (PSMs) and complementary monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) operations, measures and tools to combat IUU fishing. Following the project’s inception, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Peru were identified as recipient countries.

Language English

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    Improving States’ Capacities to Combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing - GCP/INT/307/NOR 2024
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    Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing undermines national and regional efforts to conserve and manage fish stocks, and inhibits progress towards achieving the goals of long-term sustainability. The detrimental effects of IUU fishing are particularly severe for developing coastal states and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), impacting national economies, livelihoods and the environment. In response to this phenomenon, a framework of international instruments has been developed in recent decades, the most important among them the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, commonly referred to as the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA). In this context, this Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad)-funded project aimed to improve developing countries and SIDS’ capability in the cohesive implementation of provision and procedures consistent with the PSMA and related international instruments, regional mechanisms and tools to combat IUU fishing. The main recipient countries of FAO’s legal and technical assistance and capacity development comprised Ghana, Guinea, Indonesia, Madagascar, Namibia and Sri Lanka. Several other developing countries, both Parties and non-Parties to the PSMA, benefited from the project’s activities aimed at strengthening regional coordination and cooperation on port State measures (PSMs)/the PSMA and complementary instruments to combat IUU fishing.
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    Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing undermines national and regional efforts to conserve and manage fish stocks and, as a consequence, inhibits progress towards achieving the goals of long-term sustainability, in particular Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14. In response to this phenomenon, a framework of international instruments has been developed in recent decades. Among these instruments, the FAO Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA) is the first binding international agreement specifically targeting IUU fishing. Its objective is to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing by preventing vessels engaged in the practice from using ports and landing their catches. In this way, the PSMA reduces the incentive of such vessels to continue to operate, while also blocking fishery products derived from IUU fishing from reaching national and international markets. Despite strong political will at a range of levels, the introduction of effective measures to tackle IUU fishing has been slow throughout most regions and in many developing countries. The project was part of FAO’s Global Programmeto support the implementation of the PSMA and complementary international instruments to combat IUU fishing.
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    Combatting Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing through the Global Record Programme - GCP/GLO/595/MUL 2023
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    Addressing illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is crucial as it undermines efforts at national, regional and global levels for effective fisheries management to achieve sustainable fisheries. Over the years, an international framework has been developed to strengthen fisheries management since the adoption of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1982. This framework is comprised of both binding agreements and voluntary instruments, and a number of provisions and requirements to specifically address IUU fishing. Within this framework, States, along with Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs), need to collaborate to fulfil their international commitments, for which the availability and exchange of information is key. The Global Record of Fishing Vessels, Refrigerated Transport Vessels and Supply Vessels (Global Record) Programmewas developed to promote data and information exchange standards and mechanisms in fisheries through an Information System, which was developed and launched under this project.
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