Report of the Fourth Meeting of the Parties to the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing
The Parties reviewed the status of the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures (“the Agreement” or PSMA) and recalled the decisions of the Third Meeting of the Parties. Progress and challenges in the implementation of the Agreement by Parties were discussed and the important role of regional fisheries bodies (RFBs), in particular regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs), in supporting the implementation of the Agreement was highlighted. The Parties agreed on the operationalization of the Global Information Exchange System by the end of 2023 and adopted the Terms of Reference for the Technical Working Group on Information Exchange. The Parties emphasized that assistance to developing States Parties is critical for the effective implementation of the Agreement, and reiterated the need to make the multilateral-partner PSMA Part 6 Trust Fund administered by FAO operational. The Parties adopted A Strategy to Improve the Effectiveness of the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (the “Bali Strategy”). The Parties also agreed that the Terms of Reference of the PSMA Strategy ad hoc Working Group be modified to include the task of monitoring the effective implementation of the Agreement. The amended questionnaire for the Parties for the review and assessment of the effectiveness of the PSMA, together with the new questionnaire for RFBs and other international organizations, were adopted. The programme of work was discussed and the Parties agreed on a schedule of PSMA meetings.