The United Nations General Assembly launched the ‘International Day for the Fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing’ to draw the attention of the general public to the threats posed by IUU fishing activities to fishery sustainability, as well as to ongoing efforts to fight these activities. The proposal to declare this day was made by the GFCM in 2015 and, following extensive consultations, it was unanimously endorsed by the 155th Session of the FAO Council held in December 2016 and by the 40th Session of the FAO Conference held in July 2017. 

On 5 December 2017 the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly adopted the annual resolution on sustainable fisheries, proclaiming 5 June as the International day for the fight against IUU fishing, and inviting FAO to serve as the lead agency for its celebration. This date was chosen because the 2009 FAO Port State Measures Agreement officially entered into force on 5 June.