The FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI) agreed in March 2001 on an international plan of action (IPOA) to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing (hereinafter referred to as "IPOA on IUU fishing"). The FAO Council endorsed the IPOA on 23 June 2001. The IPOA is a voluntary instrument that applies to all States and to all fishers. The objective of the plan is to guide flag States, coastal States, port States and regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) to take appropriate measures in order to address the issue of IUU fishing.
The plan may be considered as a toolbox from which States may choose relevant measures to implement into domestic legislation. However, there is a need to have a harmonized approach among States in some areas to give full effect to the IPOA. For example such an approach is important when dealing with port State measures. There is also a clear guidance in the IPOA on IUU fishing itself calling for cooperation in this field.[1]
A joint FAO/IMO[2] Working Group on IUU fishing met in October 2000.[3] The main issues examined by the group were related to flag State and port State control. Concerning port State control in brief it was noted that the majority of fishing vessels were not covered by IMO instruments either because fishing vessels were specifically excluded, were outside the size limitations or the flag States are not parties to the relevant instruments. Further it was noted that it might be difficult to introduce port State inspection procedures for fisheries management purposes and fishing vessel safety within existing regional Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs) on port State control[4]. It was also recognized that the mechanism of international or regional MOUs relating to port State control could be used as an important and effective tool for enhancing fisheries management, and addressing IUU fishing. Finally the group agreed that FAO in cooperation with relevant organizations should consider the need to develop measures for port State control dealing with all matters related to the management of fisheries resources. The Working Group developed a list of criteria for port State control of fishing vessels, which should be examined by FAO when considering the need to develop relevant measures.
It should also be mentioned that IMO, in its submission of 27 June 2001[5], to the General Assembly of the United Nations fifty-sixth session of Oceans and the Law of the Sea stated that "cooperation should be extended to FAO towards developing a port State control regime of its own through a sharing of IMO's experience and expertise in the matter".
Following the adoption of the IPOA on IUU fishing and in the light of the recommendations by the joint FAO/IMO Working Group, States should consider adopting legislation, and RFMOs should consider adopting binding measures to implement more effective port State controls, including through the development of new regional agreements or MOUs on port State measures.[6] In order to facilitate possible future developments in this field, FAO convened in November 2002 an Expert Consultation to Review Port State Measures to Combat IUU Fishing.[7]
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[1] Paragraph 62 of the IPOA
reads: “States should cooperate, as appropriate, bilaterally,
multilaterally and within the relevant regional fisheries management
organizations, to develop compatible measures for port State control of fishing
vessels. Such measures should deal with the information to be collected by port
States, procedures for information collection, and measures for dealing with
suspected infringements by the vessel of measures adopted under these national,
regional and international systems.” [2] International Maritime Organization. [3] See Report of the joint Ad Hoc Working Group on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and related matters, Rome 9-11 October 2000. [4] The concern about IUU fishing is first and foremost related to conservation and management measures and less to the safety of fishing vessels and pollution prevention standards. Thereby the IUU fishing is not the prime concern of IMO or of shipping administrators, and thus the existing regional MOUs on port State control targeting substandard vessels are not the vehicles for seeking to compensate for the lack of effective flag State enforcement of fisheries conservation and management measures. [5] On the implementation of the 1995 UN Fish Stocks Agreement. [6] In the Report of the Expert Consultation on Illegal, Unreported And Unregulated Fishing organized by the Government of Australia in cooperation with FAO, Sydney 15-19 May 2000 it is suggested that FAO, in concert with States and other agencies of relevant competence such as IMO, convenes a conference addressing the establishment of bilateral and multilateral instruments (such as Memoranda of Understanding on port State controls) to deter IUU fishing and related activities. The report also indicates items to be addressed by such a conference, see paragraph 52 of the Report. This idea is not, however, reflected in the final version of the IPOA on IUU fishing. [7] See Report of the Expert Consultation to Review Port State Measures to Combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, Rome, Italy, 4-6 November 2002. |
