Second regional workshop on transshipment held in Africa
Officials from African and Near Eastern countries are participating in the second of a series of regional workshops that is taking a closer look at the new FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Transshipment.
The workshop is taking place in Nairobi, Kenya, between the 19 and 23 June 2023. This followed an earlier workshop, held for Latin America, the Caribbean and North America, in Barbados, in March 2023.
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 meant 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 the guidelines and their contribution to sustainable fisheries.
During the opening session of this second workshop, Matthew Camilleri, Leader of the FAO Fisheries Global and Regional Processes Team from FAO Headquarters, described the Voluntary Guidelines as another important achievement by the international community where an agreement has been reached on international standards to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing. Dr Camilleri emphasised the importance for States, including through Regional Fisheries Bodies and regional mechanisms, to implement these guidelines, and stressed the need for a strengthened concerted action by all stakeholders to put an end to IUU fishing and safeguard the sustainability of fisheries resources.
Carla Mucavi, FAO Representative in Kenya, said that many countries in Africa and the Near East will benefit from the global implementation of the FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Transshipment, describing the FAO region as one with a significant number of vessels involved in transshipment, important hub ports where transshipment takes place, and where fish previously transshipped is landed. Ms Mucavi added that the region gathers almost 41% of the Parties to the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA), highlighting the existing strong commitment to combat IUU fishing.
This second workshop is bringing together delegates from 25 countries, and is being organised through the support of the European Union and Germany.
More information about the FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Transshipment and FAO’s work on transshipment, is available here.