FAO.org

Sixteen inspectors have just completed the three-week course organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Europe’s biggest fishing port – the Port of Vigo, in Spain.

The fourth edition of the FAO International course on Fisheries Port Inspections in support of the Agreement on Port State Measures, which forms part of the FAO fisheries training programme in support of the implementation of international instruments, was held with the funding of the Republic of Korea, the collaboration of the Secretaría General de Pesca of the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Xunta de Galicia, and the Autoridad Portuaria de Vigo, with the technical support of Fundación MarinnLeg.

The sixteen inspectors, from Dominica, Grenada, Panama, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago, followed an intensive course which included several onsite inspection training sessions in various real-life scenarios, besides lecture sessions.

This fourth edition of the course was particularly enriching to participants as a result of the support provided by the Secretaría General de Pesca which hosted the course participants on board its Training and Cooperation Vessel, the Intermares. The vessel was specifically designed for cooperation and training purposes, offering extensive resources, laboratories and materials for theoretical and practical instruction. 

Dr Matthew Camilleri, Leader of the FAO Fisheries Global and Regional Processes team at FAO Headquarters in Rome, said that this course is one of a kind and covers a broad spectrum of subjects related to the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA) port inspections going from legal matters, to monitoring, control and surveillance, port inspections, exchange of information and enforcement.

The FAO International course on Fisheries Port Inspections in support of the Agreement on Port State Measures is one of several training possibilities and other capacity development initiatives carried out by FAO under its global programme, to assist States in implementing the PSMA and complementary international instruments, and combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

More information is available here.

Contact can be made with FAO here: [email protected].