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Officials from countries in Asia are participating in the fourth in a series of regional workshops that take a closer look at the new FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Transshipment.

The workshop, held in Bangkok, Thailand, between the 23 and 27 October 2023, follows earlier workshops, held for Latin America, the Caribbean and North America, in Barbados, in March, a workshop for Africa, held in Kenya, in June, and a third workshop for the Pacific, held in Vanuatu, in July.

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.

Asia and the Pacific – a huge fishery with great opportunities – and challenges  

“This region accounts for more than 30 percent of the total global marine fisheries catch and a significant proportion of global fish trade. There are transshipment activities on the water as well as important hub ports, which receive transshipped fish and may also host some transshipment activity,” said Simon Funge-Smith, Senior Fishery Officer at FAO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. “Access to global and increasingly, regional, markets and upgrading of product quality requires assurances that IUU fish is not entering the value chain. There remains a challenge to ensure sufficient documentation and control over fish movements, but this can be overcome by the effective global application of the Voluntary Guidelines,” he added. 

The Asian region has already demonstrated commitment to combatting IUU fishing with 12 out of 18 coastal states in the region being Parties to the Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA), Funge-Smith also pointed out. 

This fourth workshop, co-funded by the European Union, brings together delegates from 12 countries and 1 RFMO.

More information about the FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Transshipment and FAO’s work on transshipment, is available here.