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The fifth meeting of the Global Record Informal Open-Ended Technical and Advisory Working Group (GRWG) is taking place today and tomorrow, in Seoul, Korea, with the kind hosting by the Republic of Korea and the financial support of the European Union, Spain, Sweden and the United States of America.

The meeting brings together a record-breaking 88 participants from 56 countries representing every major geographical area of the world, as well as six inter-governmental, and two non-governmental organizations to discuss the progress and state affairs of the Global Record, agree on international standards to be used in the Global Record, and address challenges around data exchange mechanisms.

On this first day of the meeting, the FAO Secretariat of the Global Record provided an update to the Working Group, highlighting that there are currently 9,083 vessels entered into the system from a total of 55 countries.

This represents a 25% increase in the number of vessels entered into, and a 30% increase in the number of countries that are participating in, the Global Record since the last meeting held in April 2018.

The Working Group took the opportunity to discuss challenges around data entry into the Global Record, including legislative, technical and capacity constraints. The Secretariat also took the opportunity to provide information on planned new developments to the Global Record, and to conduct a live demonstration of the use of the system for retrieving and cross-checking information on vessels for the purposes of identifying potential illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing behaviour.

On day 2, the Working Group will reconvene to discuss mechanisms for linking national/regional vessel registries with the Global Record, and the application of the Global Record for the implementation of the Agreement on Port State Measures.