Twenty-nine countries from Iceland to Sudan established the world’s first fisheries pact designed to stamp out pirate fishing, the UN FAO said. The Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fisheries (PSMA) took effect on June 5.
The FAO said the countries are required to “implement a number of measures while managing ports under their control, with the goals of detecting illegal fishing, stopping ill-caught fish from being offloaded and sold, and ensuring information on unscrupulous vessels is shared globally.” This includes informing each other of suspicious vessels, such as those lacking credentials or those that resist inspections at ports.
“Once a ship is denied access or inspections…parties must communicate that information to the country under whose flag the vessel is registered and inform other treaty participants as well as port masters in neighboring countries,” the FAO said.
A week before the treaty was signed, Agri-Pulse reported an incident in which a ship carrying Chinese catfish refused to undergo US government inspection and returned to China instead.
Besides heightened visibility, the agreement is also meant to ensure the long-term conservation and sustainable use of living marine resources, by protecting endangered fish populations and cracking down on overfishing practices. There are currently 26 endangered and 33 threatened fish species in danger of extinction, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports.