Tough on illegal, unreported and unregulated

Combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) has taken a big step forward with the adoption today of a set of international guidelines that allow states greater responsibility for the activities of fishing vessels flying its flag.

The FAO Voluntary Guidelines for flag State performance described a series of measures that countries can take to ensure that vessels registered under its flag do not conduct IUU fishing, one of the greatest threats to sustainable fisheries and related livelihoods.

Although the guidelines are voluntary, its adoption by the members of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI), currently meeting in Rome, is a clear indication of the intention of the countries acceding to a shared set of standards for the performance

It is easy to give exact figures, but it is believed that IUU fishing has intensified in the past 20 years, especially offshore, and it is estimated that currently amounts to between 11 and 26 million tonnes of fish caught illegally each year with a value of between 10 000 and 23 000 million US dollars.

“Today's decision represents a hugely important step in the fight against IUU fishing, which threatens not only marine ecosystems, but undermines any efforts undertaken at national, regional or international level to manage fisheries sustainably”Said Arni M. Mathiesen, Assistant Director General of FAO and responsible for Fisheries and Aquaculture.

“Taken together with the FAO Agreement 2009 on measures of port State that seeks to prevent the entry into the ports of IUU vessels and thus block the flow of illegal catches in national and international markets, These guidelines provide a powerful tool to combat IUU fishing in the decades”, añadió Mathiesen.

Ending flag changes
A flag State means any country – whether coastal or land-locked – it registers a fishing vessel and allowed to fly its flag.

Flag States are already obliged to keep a register of its ships along with information about their authorization to fish, including the species and the type of gear they can use.

However, many fishing vessels engaged in illegal activities elude control measures by “flag changes”Repeatedly recorded under the flag of new states to evade detection, undermining efforts to combat IUU fishing.

Voluntary Guidelines aim to end this practice, inter alia, by promoting greater cooperation and information exchange between countries, so that flag States are able to reject the registration of ships have previously been reported for engaging in IUU fishing, or already registered with another state.

The guidelines also provide recommendations on how countries can promote are met and take action against the failure of the ships, as well as how to enhance international cooperation to assist developing countries to assume their responsibilities as state pavilion.
The guidelines are based on existing international maritime law and in international instruments such as the Agreement on Implementation of FAO (1993) Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (1995) and the International Plan of Action for FAO to prevent , deter and eliminate IUU (2001) fishing.

Committee on Fisheries
El COFI es el único foro intergubernamental mundial –además de la Asamblea General de la ONU- donde se examinan periódicamente los problemas de la pesca y la acuicultura a nivel internacional y se hacen recomendaciones para la actuación de los gobiernos, órganos pesqueros regionales, ONG, trabajadores de la pesca, la FAO y la comunidad internacional.

Los países miembros se encuentran reunidos para el 31º período de sesiones del COFI en la sede de la FAO en Roma hasta el final de esta semana.

SOURCE: Fao.org