The Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA) to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing provides "all the instruments necessary” to achieve the goal of stopping rogue fishing practices, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Director-General José Graziano da Silva told the inaugural meeting of the PSMA parties.
The one-year-old treaty restricts port access to fishing vessels that fail to comply with a set of rules, including proof that they have proper operating licenses and transparent disclosure of the species and quantity of fish caught.
At the first Meeting of the Parties, hosted in Oslo by the Government of Norway, parties went through details regarding the implementation of PSMA, including defining the responsibilities of port states, Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) and other international bodies, including FAO.
Protocols under discussion included how to assure the proper real-time exchange and publication of information, since port states must signal eventual violations to a ship's flag state as well as to regional authorities.
Additional technical requirements of developing states were also addressed. Furthermore, an ad hoc working group is to make recommendations on the establishment of suitable funding mechanisms to make sure all members, including Small Island Developing States located amid some of the world's most attractive fishing areas, can carry out their tasks.
The PSMA treaty itself demands that members contribute to the capacity-building effort required to make the agreement work.
"This is a crucial moment," said Graziano da Silva, who noted that FAO itself has already committed USD 1.5 million (EUR 1.3 million) of its own funds for that effort. He also thanked Norway, Sweden and the United States for their confirmed contributions to the program.
In addition to preventing fishing vessels from landing illegal catches, additional benefits of the PSMA include promoting the sustainability of marine fisheries, improving the livelihoods and food security of coastal communities and reducing illegal activities often linked to IUU fishing, such as trafficking, labor abuses and slavery, Graziano da Silva told the meeting.
With Japan and Montenegro about to join after having deposited their instruments of adhesion, the PSMA will soon have 48 parties (counting all 28 members of the EU as one), and Graziano da Silva said he was very confident that more countries would join in the near future.
FAO estimates IUU fishing represents up to 26 million metric tons (MT) of product worth approximately USD 23 billion (EUR 20.5 billion) a year.
