Global action is making a major difference in efforts to combat Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, but more needs to be done as consumer demand and fish production continue to rise, the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), QU Dongyu, said Monday.

The Director-General was speaking at a High-Level Event at the Third Meeting of the Parties of the 2009 FAO Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA), a virtual event hosted by the European Union.

The PSMA is the first binding international agreement designed to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing by stopping foreign vessels engaged in it, from using ports, landing their catches, or denying them entry.

So far 69 parties, representing 56 percent of port States globally, have ratified the Agreement and the PSMA is one of the critical tools to combat IUU fishing.