International Day for the fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing

The Global Record of Fishing Vessels, Refrigerated Transport Vessels and Supply Vessels (Global Record) is a global initiative that primarily involves the compilation of certified information on vessels involved in fishing operations. The main objective is to provide a useful and powerful tool to deter and eliminate illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing activities , within the framework of legal instruments available including the Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA) , making it more difficult for vessels to operate outside the law. An essential element of the programme is the assignment of a Unique Vessel Identifier (UVI) , which remains unchanged throughout the vessel’s lifetime, regardless of change of name, ownership or flag. A programme by the FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department , the Global Record was supported by FAO member States through the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI) as one of the main global tools to fight IUU fishing . Read more about the Global...

The international community has for some time expressed concerns about the risks that transshipment could represent in relation to supporting illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing operations and other criminal activities. FAO undertook a first global study , which included a questionnaire that was well responded by FAO Members, which concluded that although transshipment might be regulated to some extent, monitoring and control of transshipment activities was generally lacking, creating loopholes. Subsequently, upon the recommendation of COFI, FAO followed with an in-depth global study on transshipment confirming that a lack of regulation, monitoring and control increases the risk of IUU caught fish entering the seafood supply chain , undermining sustainable and socially responsible fisheries. The study also identified the main types of transshipment activities.  A summary of the findings was presented to the thirty-fourth Session of COFI in 2021 , which called upon...