Update – Combating Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing and Seafood Fraud – Effective June 5, 2016, the “… world’s first ever binding international accord specifically targeting IUU fishing [Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA)] will become international law [after] the required threshold [of 30 Members (29 countries and the European Union)] has been reached …” – ‘Port state measures’ refer to “… actions taken to detect IUU fishing when ships come to port … The new treaty requires that parties designate specific ports for use by foreign vessels, making control easier. Those ships must request permission to enter ports ahead of time, and provide local authorities with information, including on the fish they have on board, and allowing inspection of their log book, licences, fishing gear and actual cargo, among other things … The Agreement calls on countries to deny entry or inspect vessels that have been involved in IUU fishing, and to take necessary action. To support this, the Agreement also includes the obligation for parties to share information regionally and globally, regarding any vessels discovered to be involved in IUU fishing … The PSMA applies to any use of a port, so even vessels that are just refueling will have to comply with inspection requirements …”
Document Title: * The title of the May 16, 2016 FAO News Article is “Ground-breaking illegal fishing accord soon to enter into force; FAO Port State Measures Agreement set to become binding law”
* The title of the November 6, 2015 NOAA News Release is “New law empowers U.S. to combat illegal fishing and seafood fraud and promote the sustainable management of international fisheries; Implements international agreements restricting port access for vessels involved with illegal fishing, promotes sustainable management of eastern Pacific fishery”
* The title of the March 15, 2015 NOAA News Release is “Presidential Task Force releases action plan to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing and seafood fraud”
* The title of the December 18, 2014 NMFS Federal Register Notice is “Recommendations of the Presidential Task Force on Combating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing and Seafood Fraud”
* The title of the June 17, 2014 Presidential Memorandum is “Comprehensive Framework to Combat Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing and Seafood Fraud”
Organization: * The May 16, 2016 News Article was issued by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations
* The November 6, 2015 and March 15, 2015 News Releases were issued by the NOAA Press Office
* The December 18, 2014 Federal Register Notice was signed on December 15, 2014 by Samuel D. Rauch III who is the Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs of the National Marine Fisheries Service, a unit of the NOAA of the US Department of Commerce
* The June 17, 2014 Presidential Memorandum was issued by the White House Office of the Press Secretary
Source: * May 16, 2016 FAO News Article
* November 6, 2015 and March 15, 2015 NOAA News Releases
* December 18, 2014 NMFS Federal Register Notice
* June 17, 2014 Presidential Memorandum
Web site: The May 16, 2016 FAO News Article is posted at
http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/414494/icode/
Additional information about the FAO Port State Measures Agreement is available at
http://www.fao.org/fishery/psm/agreement/en
The November 6, 2015 NOAA News Release is posted at
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2015/110615-new-law-empowers-us-to-combat-illegal-fishing-and-seafood-fraud-and-promote-the-sustainable-management-of-international-fisheries.html
The November 5, 2015 Office of the White House Press Secretary News Release, titled “Statement by the Press Secretary on H.R. 774, Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing Enforcement Act”, is posted at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/11/05/statement-press-secretary-hr-774-illegal-unreported-and-unregulated
Additional information about H.R.774, the “Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing Enforcement Act of 2015”, is posted at
http://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/774
The March 15, 2015 NOAA News Release is posted at
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2015/20150315-presidential-task-force-releases-action-plan-to-combat-illegal-unreported-and-unregulated-fishingaand-seafood-fraud.html
The Presidential Task Force on Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing and Seafood Fraud Action Plan is posted at
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/ia/iuu/taskforce.html
* Specifically at
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/ia/iuu/noaa_taskforce_report_final.pdf
The March 15, 2015 USTR Press Release, titled “Statement by Ambassador Michael Froman on the Presidential Task Force on Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing and Seafood Fraud”, is posted at
https://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-office/press-releases/2015/march/statement-ustr-froman-presidential
The December 18, 2014 NMFS Federal Register Notice is posted at
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-12-18/html/2014-29628.htm
The December 16, 2014 White House Blog Post, titled “New Recommendations to End Pirate Fishing and Seafood Fraud”, is available at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2014/12/16/new-recommendations-end-pirate-fishing-and-seafood-fraud
The December 16, 2014 U.S. Department of State Press Release, titled “Presidential Task Force Issues Recommendations to Combat Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing and Seafood Fraud”, is posted at
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2014/12/235173.htm
The June 17, 2014 Presidential Memorandum is posted at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/06/17/presidential-memorandum-comprehensive-framework-combat-illegal-unreporte
Additional information about the Presidential Task Force on Combating Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing and Seafood Fraud is available at
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/ia/iuu/taskforce.html
The previous FIEN message related to this topic is posted at
http://www.fien.com/articleDisplay.php?id=35104
Contact: * Contacts for the FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department are listed at
http://www.fao.org/fishery/about/organigram/en
* Contacts for the NOAA NMFS Office of Sustainable Fisheries are listed at
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/ContactSF.htm
Summary: The text of the May 16, 2016 FAO News Article follows:
16 May 2016, Rome – Illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing is about to become much more difficult thanks to the imminent entry into force of the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA), a ground-breaking international accord championed by FAO.
Now that the required threshold has been reached, with 30 Members having formally deposited their instruments of adherence, the count down to the entry into force of the PSMA is underway and on 5 June 2016 the world’s first ever binding international accord specifically targeting IUU fishing will become international law.
Collectively, the 29 countries and the European Union, which signed as a single party, have formally committed themselves through their instruments of adhesion to the Agreement account for more than 62 percent of worldwide fish imports and 49 percent of fish exports, which were $133 billion and $139 billion respectively, in 2013.
Each year, IUU fishing is responsible for annual catches of up to 26 million tonnes, with a value of up to USD 23 billion. It also undermines efforts to ensure sustainable fisheries and responsible fish stock management around the world.
“This is the dawn of a new era in the effort to combat illegal fishing. By denying unscrupulous fishers safe haven and access to markets, the PSMA will drive the seafood industry toward greater sustainability and have significant ripple effects throughout the entire fisheries supply chain,” said FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva.
“Let no port state be known and targeted by IUU fishing operators as a shelter for non-compliance,” he added, urging more countries to ratify the treaty.
How the treaty will work
“Port state measures” – at the heart of the soon to be active treaty — refer to actions taken to detect IUU fishing when ships come to port.
The new treaty requires that parties designate specific ports for use by foreign vessels, making control easier. Those ships must request permission to enter ports ahead of time, and provide local authorities with information, including on the fish they have on board, and allowing inspection of their log book, licences, fishing gear and actual cargo, among other things.
Importantly, the Agreement calls on countries to deny entry or inspect vessels that have been involved in IUU fishing, and to take necessary action. To support this, the Agreement also includes the obligation for parties to share information regionally and globally, regarding any vessels discovered to be involved in IUU fishing.
The PSMA applies to any use of a port, so even vessels that are just refuelling will have to comply with inspection requirements.
Preventing unscrupulous fishers from landing their ill-gotten hauls makes it much harder for such catches to enter national and international markets. Compared to most monitoring, control and surveillance schemes, port state measures act as a highly effective – and cost effective – deterrent to IUU fishing activities.
Support for implementation
In some cases, developing coastal countries and Small Island Developing States, which often host some of the world’s most attractive fishing areas, face difficulties in implementing the PSMA.
Accordingly, FAO has invested substantially in capacity building projects to support the application of port state measures. Now that the Agreement is entering into force, FAO is launching a series of national, regional and inter-regional initiatives, including a global programme on capacity development for implementation of the Agreement.
*The following States and regional economic integration organization are Parties to the Agreement: Australia, Barbados, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, European Union – Member Organization, Gabon, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, Iceland, Mauritius, Mozambique, Myanmar, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Palau, Republic of Korea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Thailand, Tonga, United States of America, Uruguay, and Vanuatu.
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