Fifth regional workshop on transshipment held in Europe
Officials from several European countries participated in the fifth in a series of regional workshops organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), that took a closer look at the new Voluntary Guidelines for Transshipment.
The workshop was held in Madrid, in Spain, between the 11 and 14 December 2023. This followed earlier workshops, held in Barbados in March for Latin America, the Caribbean and North America, a regional workshop for Africa held in Kenya in June, a third workshop for the Pacific held in Vanuatu in July, and the most recent workshop, held in Thailand for the Asia region in October.
The FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Transshipment were endorsed by the Committee on Fisheries (COFI) in September last year, after they were adopted by FAO Members following a global technical consultation held earlier in 2022.
The guidelines are a new international instrument to assist States and regional fisheries management organizations or arrangements (RFMO/As) in developing or revising their regulations on transshipment to support them in combatting illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
The guidelines set minimum international standards to regulate, monitor, and control transshipment of fish, whether processed or not. For the first time in the international framework, the guidelines provide clear definitions for what constitutes “transshipment” and “landing”; they establish clear processes and responsibilities for States in their different roles; and eliminate ambiguous situations through specific transshipment and landing declarations.
Through a series of regional workshops, FAO is raising awareness about benefits of implementing the guidelines in efforts to achieve sustainable fisheries.
Addressing the opening session, Matthew Camilleri, Leader of the FAO Fisheries Global and Regional Processes Team at FAO Headquarters in Rome, referred to the Voluntary Guidelines as yet another significant milestone attained by the international community where an agreement has been reached on international standards to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing. Dr Camilleri stressed that it is now crucial for States, including through Regional Fisheries Bodies and regional mechanisms, to implement the guidelines. “Strengthened concerted action by all stakeholders to put an end to IUU fishing is urgently needed to safeguard the sustainability of our fisheries resources”, concluded Dr Camilleri.
This fifth workshop brought together delegates from 7 countries and the European Union, and 3 RFMOs.
More information about the FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Transshipment and FAO’s work on transshipment, is available here.