United Nations food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)’s members/Tehcnical Consultation has completed a treaty on port State measures to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing. Stefan Flothmann, the Pew Environment Group’s International Ocean Governance Director, today issued the organisation’s response over the treaty.
Flothmann said that after four rounds of intense negotiations, the FAO Technical Consultation has concluded its work on a legally binding treaty that, for the first time, defines duties of port states to control fishing vessels and penalizes illegal operators. It is told that the treaty will aid in cracking down on rampant and widespread IUU fishing by applying port State measures to any foreign vessel that can be used for fishing or fishing-related activities.
Pew also states that the effectiveness of this treaty relies heavily upon its broad ratification, successful implementation and the willingness of nations to share enforcement information. The Pew Environment Group is the conservation arm of The Pew Charitable Trusts, a non-governmental, non-profit organisation. Pew applies an analytical approach to improving public policy and its implementation. The objective of Pew’s Port State Performance Project is to support the development and implementation of international policies to protect the world’s oceans from harmful human activities.
