FAO.org

A new questionnaire for regional fishery bodies (RFBs) to provide information on their implementation of the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA) has been launched for the first time, strengthening the monitoring, review and assessment of the implementation of the Agreement in combatting illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

This new questionnaire is intended for use by regional fisheries management organizations and all RFBs as well as international organizations which engage in initiatives that support the implementation of the PSMA.

The launch of this questionnaire follows the release, very recently, of the second version of a separate questionnaire for Parties to the PSMA, through which the same Parties report on their level of implementation and effectiveness of the Agreement in combatting IUU fishing.

Results from both questionnaires will assist with having a clear understanding of the levels of implementation and the impact of the PSMA on combatting IUU fishing, on a wide level.

The PSMA Secretariat at FAO was tasked by Parties to the PSMA in 2021 during the Third Meeting of the Parties, to develop a first draft of a new questionnaire for RFBs in cooperation with secretariats of RFBs and in consultation with the Parties.

The PSMA Secretariat developed this questionnaire, and presented it to the First PSMA Strategy ad hoc Working Group in 2023. The new RFBs questionnaire was adopted during the Fourth Meeting of the Parties that same year.

More information about the two questionnaires can be accessed here.