In 2007 the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI) supported the convening of an Expert Consultation to further develop the concept of a Comprehensive Global Record of Fishing Vessels as described in FAO’s  Global Record Feasibility Study.

Notwithstanding the formidable task of developing the Global Record, theReport of the Expert Consultation on the Development of a Comprehensive Global Record of Fishing Vessels. Rome, 25–28 February 2008. decided to adopt from the outset a long-term vision, and recommended (noting the reservation above) that the Global Record should aspire to include all vessels (excluding recreational vessels) as defined in Article 1(f) of the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing. Rome. FAO Conference - Thirty-sixth Session. 18 - 23 November 2009. The Expert Consultation also recommended a phased approach to project development and implementation, highlighting the need to ensure regular review of progress.

A planned programme of work followed, including the operation of four correspondence groups covering technical aspects of the proposed Global Record. Two technical reports were also commissioned to provide guidance on both the shape of the work programme and the project’s governance arrangements.

• The Development of a Global Record of Fishing Vessels: Conceptual Structure and Governance Arrangements
• The Development of a Global Record of Fishing Vessels: High Level Project Plan

This phase of the work plan culminated in a further meeting of experts in London in January 2009. Progress was reviewed and a Global Record Synthesis PaperMeeting document COFI/2009/Synthesis paper was put forward to the twenty-eighth session of COFI in 2009.

The Report of the twenty-eighth session of the Committee on Fisheries. Rome, 2-6 March 2009. supported an ongoing programme of work that should include assessing user needs, including the needs of developing countries, convening a broad based Steering Committee, designing and implementing a pilot project and preparing a comprehensive technical report which could inform a Technical Consultation on the Global Record. It is this current programme of work that is underway in anticipation of a Technical Consultation towards the end of 2010.

So, the project to establish a Comprehensive Global Record of Fishing Vessels, Refrigerated Transport Vessels and Supply Vessels’ is an initiative agreed to by FAO member-States as a necessary further tool in the fight against ‘illegal, unreported and unregulated’ (IUU) fishing.

The Global Record is not an isolated concept:

• it is a measured international response to the ongoing problem of IUU fishing;
• designed to enhance existing MCS tools and strategies; and
• limit the operating environment and opportunities currently available to IUU operators.

Its development is cognizant of and consistent with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and other international instruments and initiatives. For example, it parallels the development of the legally-binding instrument on Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing. Rome. FAO Conference - Thirty-sixth Session. 18 - 23 November 2009 and guidelines to assess Report of the Expert Consultation on Flag State Performance. Rome, 23-26 June 2009.

Other relevant documents

• The 2005 Rome Declaration on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing - Adopted by the FAO Ministerial Meeting on Fisheries Rome, 12 March 2005
• High Seas Task Force (2006). Closing the net: Stopping illegal fishing on the high seas