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Members of the Thirty-sixth Session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI36) reiterated the high priority they place on combatting illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and while they noted progress reported by members, they encouraged the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to source additional resources and funding to be allocated towards preventing, deterring and eliminating IUU fishing.

The Committee on Fisheries (COFI) is the largest global fisheries policy forum gathering policymakers, experts and partners in the fisheries and aquaculture sector. The biennial meeting was held at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy, between 8 – 12 July 2024.

During the session dedicated to the agenda item ‘Combatting illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing’, COFI members welcomed the increase in the number of Parties to the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA), as well as concrete actions by the Parties to enhance the implementation and effectiveness of the PSMA, including through the implementation of the Bali Strategy, and the operationalization of the PSMA Global Information Exchange System (GIES).

COFI members also welcomed the technical assistance delivered through FAO’s PSMA global capacity development programme and called for its expansion and additional support to ensure effective and coordinated implementation of international instruments. At the same time, COFI encouraged FAO to identify successful initiatives to promote South-South and Triangular Cooperation in the context of combatting IUU fishing.

Members also noted the recommendations from the fourth session of the FAO-ILO-IMO ad hoc Joint Working Group on IUU fishing and related matters, which met earlier this year, and requested FAO to establish a structured process through the Sub-Committee on Fisheries Management to consider the outcomes of the Joint Working Group sessions. The same Sub-Committee was requested to address the concern on fishing activities of foreign fleets operating in national exclusive economic zones (EEZs) without the benefit of national or bilateral agreements.

Members noted the conclusions of the expert workshop on the FAO Compliance Agreement, and stressed the importance of building on improvements achieved so far. They also encouraged future work on flag State responsibilities taking into account the FAO Compliance Agreement, the UN Fish Stocks Agreement and relevant voluntary instruments.

COFI also urged members as well as regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) to ensure that they have a comprehensive framework for monitoring and control of transshipment operations, considering the FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Transshipment, and called on FAO to support their work and monitor the progress.

COFI also called for enhanced coordination and effective implementation of international instruments, including through regional fishery bodies (RFBs), and encouraged the uptake of internationally agreed practices and standards at national and regional levels.

Other areas addressed included beneficial ownership of fishing vessels, vessel tracking for monitoring compliance and surveillance, effective monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) regimes and accountability frameworks, and high seas boarding and inspection schemes at RFMOs.