Port States Measures Agreement

Implementation of PSM in Majuro (RMI), the pacific`s busiest tuna transshipment port However, there are ways for illegal operators to circumvent these restrictions, for example by transferring their catches at sea and receiving deliveries from transport vessels. It is therefore crucial that any vessel supporting illegal fishing vessels is also denied access to the port. The treaty was concluded on 22 November 2009 at the 36th Session of the FAO Conference in Rome. Ninety-one States negotiated and accepted the text of the treaty. [2] Twenty-three states signed the treaty while it was open for signature in 2009 and 2010. The standards for ship inspections set out in the agreement have long been the standard operating procedures of the Office of Law Enforcement when conducting in-depth inspections of ships. The main adjustments lie in the screening and management of landings. Right now, we board about 60% of the foreign-flagged fishing vessels and fisheries support vessels that land in U.S. ports. We continue to board and inspect a significant number of foreign vessels and have implemented the use of the required inspection form of the agreement.

In addition, the results of the inspection will now be shared with the vessel`s flag State for appropriate follow-up (if necessary) and, where appropriate, coastal States, regional fisheries management boards and other organizations to report violations of conservation measures or other evidence of illegal, unreported or unregulated fishing. This exchange of information strengthens the U.S. ability to combat IUU fishing in collaboration with our global partners. The Convention on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eradicate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing is a 2009 international treaty of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to prevent and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. The United States supports the successful international implementation of the agreement, and in response, we have developed an international training program to provide technical assistance to its global partners. This training focuses on the operational requirements of the Port State Agreement, such as pre-arrival information verification to verify arriving vessels for IUU fishing indications, requirements for conducting a thorough inspection of port State measures, and post-inspection actions. The training modules shall also cover all the elements listed in Annex E of the guidelines of the Agreement on the Training of Inspectors (e.B conservation and management measures of the relevant regional fisheries management organisations, evidence, investigation tools, information analysis, vessel monitoring systems and vessel identification, fishing gear and fish). This agreement does not only focus on IUU fishing vessels. It also requires measures against vessels carrying out support activities such as refuelling or transhipment of fish from IUU fishing vessels at sea. The treaty, adopted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 2009, obliges parties to strengthen and harmonize port controls for foreign-flagged vessels and, therefore, to keep illegal, unreported and unregulated fish or IUU out of global markets.

Under the leadership of fisheries authorities with stronger links with Allied authorities, the implementation of the PSMA will bring institutional, organisational and operational benefits that will lead to stricter and more efficient port procedures for handling fishing vessels in order to improve control of the fisheries sector. The treaty entered into force on June 5, 2016, 30 days after it was ratified by a 25th state. As of September 2018, the treaty had 55 parties, including 54 states plus the European Union: To support efforts to end illegal fishing, The Pew Charitable Trusts committed to implementing in a harmonized manner three international agreements designed to make it harder for unscrupulous operators to exploit gaps in national and regional fisheries regulations. As a major market state and seafood importer, the United States is a fisherman, seafood buyers and consumers will benefit from a large-scale global implementation of the agreement, which closes ports around the world to IUU vessels and prevents illegal fishing from entering international trade. As a global leader in sustainable fishing practices, the United States has a responsibility to ensure that imported fish is caught legally. Similarly, the United States has a responsibility to protect its domestic fishers from unfair competition and to ensure consumer confidence in the seafood supply by preventing illegal products from entering the market. In May 2017, the parties met to begin clarifying the implementation of the agreement. The representatives plan to meet every two years to continue this work, and technical working groups will meet in the meantime.

These efforts include the management of a fund to assist developing countries in assessing their monitoring, control and surveillance systems, improving inter-agency cooperation and strengthening their institutional framework. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Convention on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fisheries is an international agreement that aims to prevent IUU fishing through the adoption and implementation of effective port State measures to ensure the long-term conservation and sustainable use of living marine resources. The Agreement is intended to be fully and effectively applied by countries in their capacity as port States to foreign-flagged ships entering or staying in a country`s ports. NoAA`s Bureau of Fisheries for Enforcement has developed a national port state training program for inspectors to ensure that our sworn enforcement staff and Joint Agreement partners are aware of the requirements of the agreement`s implementing legislation, the agreement itself, and relevant regional fisheries management board conservation and management measures. The new training program ensures that state law enforcement officers working under NOAA supervision are fully trained and meet the requirements of the agreement. One of the highest priorities of the jeA training is the emphasis on familiarity with the Regional Fisheries Management Board. Other focal points are training on in-depth vessel inspections, unloading monitoring, fishing gear control and licence verification. Otherwise, the existing training program for sworn personnel provides knowledge and skills that go beyond the guidelines for inspector training set out in the agreement. Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) catches continue to enter global markets, accounting for up to $23.5 billion of seafood each year.

To combat these illegal activities, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations convention of the United Nations Convention on Port Measures (PSMA) entered into force in 2016 after exceeding 25 ratifications. While governments ratify and implement the agreement, seafood buyers also play a role. Buyers can introduce policies that give preference to ports whose states are parties to the MAWP, as they are associated with a lower risk in the due diligence process. Industry can play a key role in educating states that have not yet ratified the agreement on its importance by assessing the controls it has put in place to prevent the landing of IUU fish, especially during port visits. .