Panama recently embarked on a training program for employees whose work involves its famed Canal in order to implement the Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA), an international accord designed to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
With its canal being one of the world's most important transit points for international shipping – including commercial fishing vessels – Panama saw the need to sign on to the port state measures agreement in November 2016, five months after the PSMA came into force.
The Panamanian newspaper La Estrella de Panama, in reporting on the technical training in May, noted: “The country plays a very important role in dealing with Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing through the implementation of the Agreement and other international instruments, as it is a country that, in addition to receiving fishing products, is characterized by providing port services that allow vessels to carry out their activities.”
Besides ensuring proper detection and investigation of IUU fishing, the agreement “ensures that fish caught from IUU fishing should be blocked from reaching national and international markets, thereby reducing the incentive for perpetrators to continue to operate, but also that other States, [regional fisheries management organizations] and relevant international organizations are also made aware of the incident,” according to the FAO's website.
“Panama has shown its commitment to concrete actions for the implementation of the Agreement and sharing information with other countries,” Fisheries and Aquaculture Officer of the FAO for Latin America and the Caribbean, Alejandro Flores, told La Estrella.
Zuleika Pinzón, administrator of the Panama Water Resources Authority (ARAP) said the training formed part of Panama's strategy to “deal in an integrated manner with this scourge of illegal fishing” and improve the oversight of its waterways.
The FAO website also notes that the PSMA strengthens fisheries management, conservation and governance, while enhancing flag states' control over vessels carrying their flag while in another country's waters.
