FAO.org

A recent mission by experts from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) served to continue assisting Madagascar in determining appropriate procedures for the country, to fulfil its responsibilities towards sustainable fisheries.

Between the 10–21 March, FAO experts visited ports in Antsiranana and the island of Nosy Be in Madagascar, to provide input on the implementation of port State measures the country has in place, in line with the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA) and the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) Resolution 16/11, and to focus on enforcement and interagency processes following the detection of infractions.

As a result, FAO experts are contributing towards assisting Madagascar in developing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and supporting the country in determining the appropriate procedures to have in place to protect its fisheries inspectors in the conduct of their duties. FAO experts are also assisting the country in strengthening cooperation between its different national authorities and entities.

Madagascar has been a Party to the PSMA since March 2017, and is a contracting party to the IOTC. It is therefore committed to implement the binding resolution on port State measures (PSMR 16/11), which was first adopted in 2010 and applies to tuna and tuna-like species under IOTC management.

During this mission, FAO experts, accompanied by fisheries inspectors from the Centre de Surveillance des Pêches (CSP), met with port authorities, prosecutors, local fisher associations, and representatives of fisheries companies.

This mission was carried out through support by the Federal Republic of Germany, under the Port State Measures support project.