FAO supports Panama in strengthening fisheries monitoring, control and surveillance
Experts from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) carried out a four-day mission in Panama to assist national authorities in identifying monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) instruments necessary to ensure the legal origin of fisheries products throughout the supply chain.
During the mission, held from 16–19 June 2025, FAO experts worked closely with technical teams from the Autoridad de los Recursos Acuáticos de Panamá (ARAP). Together, they reviewed regulatory requirements and assessed the current level of implementation of MCS tools.
As part of ongoing support, FAO will continue to assist Panama throughout 2025 in developing secondary legislation needed to operationalize the identified MCS measures, thereby strengthening the country’s capacity to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
This assistance is provided under an EU-funded project supporting the implementation of the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA) and related international instruments. Panama has been a Party to the PSMA since November 2016.