FAO experts expound the Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA) at Moscow workshop

At the initiative of FAO’s Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, a seminar on The Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA) to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing was held today at the UN House in Moscow.

Officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, the Federal Agency for Fishery, the Border Service of the Federal Security Service, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Transportation, the Federal Customs Service, and the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance, as well as experts from academic and industry institutions attended the workshop.

The PSMA was adopted at the thirty-sixth session of the FAO Conference on 26 November 2009 and is the first legally binding international agreement to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The Russian Federation signed the Agreement on 29 April 2010 and has moved close to ratifying it.

In his opening statement, Pyotr Savchuk, the Deputy Head of the Federal Agency for Fishery, highlighted that although there is a relevant legislation in the Russian Federation, ”which is quite strict as a matter of fact”, additional clarification on the mechanisms and benefits of The Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA) is most welcome. Moreover, it “would facilitate the path towards its ratification.”

After reviewing the status and legal framework of the PSMA and related instruments, the team of FAO experts, Matthew Camilleri, FAO’s Head of the Fishing Operations and Technology Branch, his colleagues, Adela Rey Aneiros and Joao Neves, presented the correlation of port state measures with  monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) tools. In particular, national and regional MCS tools, fishing vessel registries, the Global Record of Fishing Vessels, Refrigerated Transport Vessels and Supply Vessels, catch documentation and other market-based measures.

The fundamental principles – legal, policy, institutional – applied at the national level for the implementation of the PSMA, were discussed in minute detail. A separate topic for discussion was “operational procedures and priorities” for the implementation of PSMA. The speakers identified key elements in the inspection and verification process (evidence, communications, decision-making, information systems and policy considerations) and listed reporting requirements.

The seminar reviewed port State, flag State, coastal State, and market State responsibilities in relation to combatting IUU fishing.

Port State Measures came to prominence as an internationally acknowledged tool to combat IUU fishing, notably due to the increasing recognition by the international community of their effectiveness in combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, Camilleri noted.

Port State measures as a tool to promote more responsible fisheries and long-term sustainability have been introduced progressively in both binding and voluntary instruments. The movement towards the use of these measures for fisheries management purposes has been encouraged by the recognition that they are more cost-effective and efficient than alternative sea inspection involving surveillance platforms.

When vessels are voluntarily in port, authorized officers have the option of boarding vessels for random inspections or to undertake more targeted inspections if there is information or evidence to suggest that a vessel has engaged, or is suspected to have engaged, in IUU fishing.

Flag States, on the other hand, should take measures to ensure that vessels flying their flags do not engage in IUU fishing and do not engage in any activity that undermines conservation and management measures.

No less important are mechanisms in place to ensure sufficient cooperation with relevant Port States with regard to vessels belonging to Flag State.

As for Coastal State responsibilities,the list of conditions for authorization of fishing and fishing related activities in Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) includes, for instance, background checks of vessel, in collaboration with Flag States in case of foreign flagged vessels.

Market State responsibilities consist of the following duties: Prevention of trade of products derived from IUU fishing; Catch documentation and certification requirements; Multilaterally agreed trade measures consistent with WTO principles; Transparency and traceability of fisheries products; and Information exchange and cooperation.

“Combatting IUU fishing at a global scale necessitates effective coordination and collaboration among flag, coastal, port and market States”, was the key message by Matthew Camilleri.

The crosscutting theme of the seminar was the strategy of the Russian Federation for the implementation of port state measures, as well as the prospects for the ratification of the PSMA. The ratification, as M. Camilleri noted, “will allow Russia without significant changes in its legislation to assume more significant obligations for international cooperation to combat IUU fishing, including through a wider exchange of information at global level.”