FAO experts continue assisting Uruguay to implement the PSMA
Experts from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) led weeklong discussions in Uruguay where they presented activities developed in the last two years to assist the country in combatting illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, particularly through the project, funded by the Republic of Korea, under the Global Capacity Development Programme to support the implementation of the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA) and complementary international instruments.
The mission took place between 26 – 29 August 2024.
During this mission, FAO experts held a meeting with the country’s Coordinating Commission on the Prevention of Illegal Fishing, where representatives of the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries, the Ministry of Transport and Public Works, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of National Defence, also participated. FAO experts discussed proposals, for consideration by the Commission, on procedures to access the port of Montevideo as well as legal guidelines covering wider areas of governance, for the country to be better able to implement its national legislation to combat IUU fishing.
Additional meetings were held to discuss an institutional risk matrix to identify and inspect fishing vessels entering Uruguay and proposals to amend regulatory protocols to improve port inspections. Subsequently, Uruguay and FAO experts will work on possible amendments to other national legal instruments within the framework of the implementation of the PSMA.