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The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is assisting Timor-Leste with the preparation of a National Strategy and Action Plan that will bring the country compliant with important international legal instruments that address illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, in particular the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA).

To start formulating the National Strategy and Action Plan, the country’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Forestry, with the support of FAO, conducted a national multi-stakeholder workshop in Dili (23-27 of September), with the participation of senior officials and technical experts.

More than 30 participants, representing national agencies including fisheries, port, customs, immigration, transport, maritime police, navy, and health, discussed the main challenges and opportunities to improve existing policy, legal, institutional and operational frameworks, to strengthen the monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) system, to increase cooperation, and to promote coordination.

The contributions of all stakeholders during this workshop will now be taken into consideration in the preparation of the National Strategy and Action Plan, to be presented by FAO to the Government of Timor-Leste for its endorsement. This will then lead towards the review and alignment, as appropriate, of national policies, institutional and legal frameworks, as well as MCS systems and operations, so that the country will be fully compliant with provisions of the PSMA, and complementary international instruments and regional mechanisms that support sustainable fisheries. 

Addressing the opening of the workshop, Honorable Domingos da Conceição dos Santos, Secretary of State of Fisheries and Acting Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Forestry, stressed the active engagement of the Government of Timor-Leste in the fight against IUU fishing “which requires the coordinated intervention of all the entities present here” and thanked FAO for its continuous support in this process.

Ms Paula Lopes da Cruz, Assistant FAOR Programme in Timor-Leste, congratulated Timor-Leste for its accession to the PSMA and recalled FAO’s support in the adoption of the network of cooperation among the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries and the setting up of a project to catalyse the implementation of the PSMA in these countries. This is the third activity undertaken under the said project.

Mr Domingos da Conceição dos Santos closed the workshop in an official cerimony where the priliminary version of the matrix with the National Strategy and Action Plan was presented and agreed among the participants.

More information about the PSMA is available here. More information about FAO’s work to assist in combatting IUU fishing, is available here.