Further development of an RPOA against IUU fishing for the Caribbean
The development of a Regional Plan of Action to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (RPOA-IUU) for the Wider Caribbean region continued in Barbados at a meeting held between 6-7 March 2019.
This meeting was convened as a follow-up to the third meeting of the WECAFC/CRFM/OSPESCA Regional Working Group on IUU fishing, held on 26-28 September 2018, where four sub-groups were formed and assigned the responsibility to draft the RPOA-IUU.
The meeting, facilitated by FAO, is undertaking the task of outlining the key provisions of the RPOA-IUU, considering flag, port, coastal and market State responsibilities.
The working groups have reviewed these obligations taking into consideration legal and policy measures, operational and MCS issues, capacity development requirements, and the role of regional coordination and cooperation.
The draft RPOA-IUU will then be presented for adoption at the upcoming seventeenth session of WECAFC.