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

The Agreement to Promote Compliance with International Conservation and Management Measures by Fishing Vessels on the High Seas (The Compliance Agreement), aims to enhance the role of flag States and ensure that a State strengthens its control over its vessels to ensure compliance with international conservation and management measures . It notes the special responsibility of flag States to ensure that none of their vessels are fishing on the high seas unless authorized, and that they can effectively exercise their responsibilities to ensure their vessels comply with international measures. This is the second edition of the original publication, with the inclusion of a sixth FAO official language in one multilingual version. No changes in the main text have been carried out. Download PDF . Agreement to promote compliance with international conservation and management measures by fishing vessels on the high seas

This brochure was prepared for the FAO international course on fisheries law, which has been designed to strengthen the capacity of legal practitioners in fisheries to perform their tasks. Under its Global Capacity Development Programme to support the implementation of the 2009 FAO Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter, and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (PSMA), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has developed a Global Training Programme (GTP) to contribute to national, regional, and global efforts to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The GTP encompasses a series of specialized courses built on a number of modules, the details of which are included in the GTP Prospectus. This FAO international course on fisheries law has been designed to provide participants with a sound knowledge of fisheries law, in theory and in practice. It is aimed at government officials from develo...

Training courses topics:   •  Public international law and Law of the Sea (Modules: PIL-101; LOS-102)  • General understanding of the fundamental principles of the public international law. Concepts, definitions and articles under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) relevant to the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA). Duration: 4 hours of lectures + 1 hour of practical exercises Fisheries law (Module: FL-101)  • Overview of the international legally binding instruments relating to fisheries and other international binding instruments. Duration: 6 hours of lectures + 1 hour of practical exercises Fisheries management (Module: FM-101) • Objectives and principles of fisheries management, United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals relevant to fisheries, management plans, precautionary approach, and technical conservation measures. Duration: 4 hours of lectures + 5 hours of practical exercises Illegal, unreported and unregulate...

The  Compendium of decisions made by the Parties to the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures  provides a compilation of currently applicable decisions made by the Parties to the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (PSMA) , an international agreement adopted under Article XIV of the FAO Constitution, which entered into force on 5 June 2016. This compendium is the result of a request by the Parties to the PSMA to have one reference document on decisions made, starting from their first meeting in 2017. This first edition will be updated following every Meeting of the Parties to the PSMA to contain only decisions which are in effect.  Download 

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...

Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing is a global problem that threatens ocean ecosystems and sustainable fisheries. It also threatens our economic security and the natural resources that are critical to global food security, and it puts law-abiding fishermen and seafood producers in the United States and abroad at a disadvantage. The Maritime Security and Fisheries Enforcement (SAFE) Act provides a whole-of-government approach to counter IUU fishing and related threats to maritime security. Section 3551 of the Act requires the establishment of an Interagency Working Group to strengthen maritime security and combat IUU fishing. Combating IUU fishing is a top priority for the United States, and communication, collaboration and strategic coordination will be key in bringing about tangible results. The efforts of the U.S. Interagency Working Group on IUU Fishing now sit at the heart of our government’s coordination on tackling IUU fishing practices and setting the cond...