Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 7 • Number 5 • 16th March 2007

New, Binding Measures to Target Illegal Fishing

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A UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) meeting has set the stage for the introduction of new rules targeting illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing (IUU). Meeting in the Committee on Fisheries in Rome from 5-9 March 5, governments from 131 countries agreed to negotiate a new international agreement that will establish strict controls in ports where fish is landed.

Fishing without permission, catching endangered species, disregarding catch quotas or using outdated equipment are the most common IUU fishing offences, according to the FAO. Measure to combat such practices include checking the record of boats prior to allowing them to enter a dock, and carrying out boat inspections in order to check the documentation, equipment, and cargo. Another goal set by the committee was to improve communication between ports, so authorities can keep track of repeat offenders.

The new agreement is expected to come into force following the next meeting of the committee in 2009, with negotiations taking place over the course of 2007 and 2008.

EU Commissioner Joe Borg welcomed the launch of the negotiations, noting that “The proposals on port state control are critical to the fight against IUU, and something which the EU has been calling for since the adoption of its 2002 IUU Action Plan.” Sebastian Losada of Greenpeace said “The international cooperation, measures of forced fulfillment for the control in the ports, as well as a global registry of fishing ships and a regime of sanctions adapted, are between the tools that the governments need to start up. This way, we will be able to fight fleets that are literally robbing the food of some of the poorest communities in the planet and destroying our marine ecosystems.”

IUU offences burden for world fisheries not only because they deplete the resource, but also because they lead to large monetary losses — due primarily to lost revenues from fishing, and also to expenses related to enforcement.

The Committee on Fisheries also took decisions to develop technical guidelines on best practices in deep sea fisheries, to develop guidelines on the use of marine protected areas for sustainable fisheries management and conserving marine biodiversity, and to convene an international conference focusing on the problems and needs specific to small scale fisheries in the developing world.

“Countries agree to strengthen control in ports to combat illegal fishing,” FAO RELEASE, 12 March 2007; “131 Governments to set nets for illegal fishers,” ENS, 12 March 2007.