FAO Members agree to develop international guidelines on transshipment
During the Thirty-fourth Session of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI), which met virtually last week, FAO Members agreed on the need for international guidelines on transshipment in fisheries.
Members welcomed FAO’s in-depth study on transshipment, published in December 2020, and expressed concern on the risks that inadequately regulated, controlled and monitored transshipment poses in relation to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
Members noted that there are different types of transshipment operations, not all of which have negative impacts on the sustainability of fisheries, and noted that consideration should be made for regional specificities of transshipment operations.
FAO will now work on the first draft of the voluntary guidelines and will, in the coming months, convene an Expert Consultation to review this draft.
This will then be followed by a member-led negotiation process, through the convening of a Technical Consultation.