A landmark memorandum of understanding (MoU) to strengthen their ties and develop cooperative ways to fight illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing on both coasts of South America has been signed by Ecuador and Uruguay.
The MoU is an important step forward for the two nations. It commits each country to mutual, meaningful co-operation on fisheries and aquaculture, and emphasises how stronger ocean governance, including monitoring and enforcement of fishing activities, can help prevent IUU fishing and ensure long-term sustainability of resources.
Andres Arens, vice minister of aquaculture and fisheries for Ecuador, and Jaime Coronel, director of the national directorate for aquatic resources of Uruguay, signed the MoU, which will be in effect for at least five years.
According to the United Nations Development Programme, Ecuador has the largest purse seiner fleet in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and the largest small-scale, artisanal fishing fleet in the Southeast Pacific Ocean, directly employing 58,000 people.
Uruguay has the port of Montevideo, one of the busiest fishing ports in the world.
The MoU commits Ecuador and Uruguay to share information on the previous activity of fishing vessels entering their waters and any red flags about vessels that may try to offload illegally caught fish in ports.
Significantly, the two governments will also work as a team at international forums, such as the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s Committee on Fisheries, on issues related to climate change, fisheries management and IUU fishing. This work is expected to emphasise how these issues affect not only each country but also the broader Latin American region – and fisheries around the world.
Ecuador and Uruguay are not the first countries to recognise the importance of co-operation on fisheries, but the joint agreement is significant, given its potential impact to improve fisheries management across the continent and in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
