The Honourable Gail Shea, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, has announced that Canada has signed the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (PSMA). Minister Shea told that illegal fishing is a menace to global fishing industry which undermines the livelihoods of legitimate fish harvesters, both in Canada and abroad.
It is proud to be a longstanding leadership role in the global fight against illegal fishing and was a key player in the negotiation and adoption of this Agreement, says Minister Shea. She also told that the PSMA constitutes an international effort to strengthen fisheries governance around the world and to tackle the problem of IUU fishing by setting strong international minimum standards to prevent illegal fisheries products from entering markets through port access.
By signing the PSMA Canada proved that it has big role to improve global fisheries governance and combat IUU fishing, and complements a wide range of measures and authorities exercised by the federal government. A 2008 study estimated that the global economic loss due to IUU fishing ranges from US$10-23 billion annually, in addition to potential effects on marine ecosystems and fish stocks.
According to Minister Shea IUU fishing is a global problem and we are committed to fighting it on a global scale. She also said that Canada is the world’s seventh largest exporter of fish and fish products, a sector that serves as an economic mainstay for approximately 1,500 rural and coastal communities across the country.
