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The General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), at its thirty-ninth session in 2015, proposed that an initiative be launched within the remit of FAO to declare an International Day for the Fight against IUU Fishing to raise awareness of the importance of the fight against IUU fishing.

This proposal was endorsed by the Committee on Fisheries (COFI), at its thirty-second session.

The General Assembly of the United Nations (UNGA) declared 5 June the International Day for the Fight against IUU Fishing at its seventy-second session in November 2017.

The purpose of this day is to draw attention to the threats posed by IUU fishing activities to the sustainable use of fisheries resources as well as to ongoing efforts to fight these activities.

The date of 5 June was chosen due to its significance in the fight against IUU fishing; this is the day that the Agreement on Port State Measures entered into force.