Side event on IUU fishing held during COFI33 first day
©FAO/Giulio NapolitanoA Side Event, entitled "Developments in combatting IUU fishing", held on the first day of the thirty-third Session of the Committee of Fisheries (COFI), was well received by the approximately 120 delegates that attended.
The hour-long event was held at the FAO Headquarters, in Rome, Italy, on Monday 9 July 2018 and involved the participation of fisheries experts working on global, regional and national levels.
Matthew Camilleri, Head of the Fishing Operations and Technology Branch (FIAO) within the FAO's Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, gave an overview of the global developments and initiatives carried out in the field of combatting IUU fishing, including an update on the FAO's Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA).
Alicia Mosteiro, Fishery Officer within the FAO's FIAO, gave a demonstration of the Information System of the Global Record of Fishing Vessels, Refrigerated Transport Vessels and Supply Vessels (Global Record), giving practical examples of how the tool can be useful to flag, port, coastal and market States, and for the implementation of the PSMA and complementary instruments. During the same event, the Global Record Information System was officially released to the public.
José Romero, Director General of Fishieres Inspection in Peru, spoke about the several regional initiatives being held to combat IUU fishing as well as the recently-launched Regional Network for LAC.
David Agnew explained the process and the reason for the development of FAO technical guidelines on methodologies to estimate IUU fishing, with a view for more consistent and reliable estimates to be conducted in the future.
Roberto Cesari, Head of DG Mare, European Commission, detailed the way the European Commission handles matters of IUU fishing, including repercussions for countries concerned and the benefits, in recent years, of informal discussions that lead to more compliance with international and regional regulations.
The Side Event ended with a practical presentation of initiatives undertaken by the Port of Vigo in recent years to increase transparency and traceability in fishery products. The presentation was given by Enrique C. Lopez Veiga, President of the Port Authority of Vigo.
A recording of the full event may be watched here.
See photos from the event here.