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A new function has been released in the Global Information Exchange System (GIES), an application developed in support of the 2009 FAO Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA) to assist countries in the practical application of the PSMA to prevent, deter, and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

The PSMA Secretariat has announced that effective from today, the Advance Request for Port Entry (ARPE) function is accessible directly via the GIES portal to accredited users in all six FAO official languages.

The ARPE form follows the requirements of Annex A of the PSMA and needs to be completed by foreign vessels requesting access to ports.

Upon receipt of an ARPE, the port State will now be able to access the vessel profile within the GIES to support its analysis of risk, and take the necessary action by approving or denying port entry or use to the incoming vessel. Through the release of this function, the port State can now take action directly in the GIES and the decision will be automatically communicated to the vessel.

Furthermore, data from the ARPE can now be automatically integrated into a Denial of Entry or Use of Port form (DEN) or in a Port Inspection Report form (PIR), as required, to facilitate the data entry process, after which the port State reviews and completes the form, thus streamlining the reporting process.

The PSMA Secretariat has developed this additional function in the GIES in support of Parties that do not have a national or regional electronic ARPE in place, in order to facilitate the workflow, the data entry and the notification process.

This follows the release of other functions of the GIES earlier this year, allowing countries to access and submit information about their National Contact Point (NCP) and Designated Ports (DPs) directly through the GIES portal, together with a User Management section which allows Parties to create and manage their own GIES accounts.

The development of ARPE has been supported by financial contributions from the Government of Iceland and the Government of Germany.

For any assistance or requests related to GIES access or use, users may contact the Help Desk at the PSMA Secretariat at this email address: [email protected]