The Near East and North Africa Regional Office of the UN’s  Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) called countries in the region to adhere to a new international agreement to address illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing (IUU).

FAO Regional Office call echoes one of the main recommendations of the 33rd Regional Conference for the Near East (NERC33), which was attended by representatives from 25 member nations from the region. The Regional conference noted the importance of fisheries, aquaculture and fishing-related activities and the sustainable benefits derived from the oceans, seas, coastal areas and inland water bodies, with a focus on marine fisheries to alleviate the pressure on other food production systems and with minimal use of fresh water resources.

The conference welcomed the efforts and actions undertaken by countries, FAO and partners on fisheries and aquaculture as the foundation for blue growth opportunities, and endorsed the application of the  Blue Growth Initiative in the Region and its components, including ecosystem services, economic growth, environmental benefits and social development.

The conference urged countries to safeguard the interests of small-scale and traditional fishing communities in the face of multinational illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) and called on member countries to sign the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IUU) Agreement.

IUU fishing is about to become much more difficult once the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA), a ground-breaking international accord championed by FAO, enters into force on June 5th 2016.

In May 2016, FAO announced that 29 member countries and the European Union had formally deposited their instruments of adherence, and the count down to the entry into force of the PSMA was underway. On 5 June 2016 it will become the world's first legally binding international accord specifically targeting IUU fishing.

With two countries from the region presenting their adherence documents to FAO Director-General, namely Oman and Sudan, the region has still a lot to do in order to make illegal fishing difficult to those who will visit its ports.

Collectively, the 29 countries and the European Union, which signed as a single party, have formally committed themselves through their instruments of adhesion account for more than 62 percent of worldwide fish imports and 49 percent of fish exports, which were $133 billion and $139 billion respectively, in 2013.

IUU fishing is responsible for annual catches of up to 26 million tons, with a value of up to $23 billion. It also undermines efforts to ensure sustainable fisheries and responsible fish stock management around the world.

"While we praise Oman and Sudan who have already ratified  this unique agreement, we know that all countries of our region would benefit from it, especially those with a long history of fishing and fish trading," said FAO Assistant Director-General and NENA Regional Representative, Abdessalam Ould Ahmed.

“As this is a legally binding agreement, it is one that countries will need to take seriously and therefore the level of commitment needed to ensure implementation will need to be significant. At FAO, we stand ready to guide our member countries in this region to meet those commitments.” Ould Ahmed added.

Ould Ahmed warned that “when illegal fishing will be banned at the abiding ports, fishermen will migrate to non-adhering countries, destabilizing their marine ecosystems and depleting their fish stock.”

The new treaty on Port States measures requires that parties designate specific ports for use by foreign vessels, making control easier. Those ships must request permission to enter ports ahead of time, and provide local authorities with information, including on the fish they have on board, and allowing inspection of their log book, licences, fishing gear and actual cargo, among other things.

Importantly, the agreement calls on countries to deny entry or inspect vessels that have been involved in IUU fishing, and to take necessary action. To support this, the agreement also includes the obligation for parties to share information regionally and globally, regarding any vessels discovered to be involved in IUU fishing.

Preventing unscrupulous fishers from landing their ill-gotten hauls makes it much harder for such catches to enter national and international markets. Compared to most monitoring, control and surveillance schemes, port state measures act as highly effective deterrents to IUU fishing activities.