FAO.org

2025 is a milestone year for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in the delivery of its Global Capacity Development Programme in support of the implementation of the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA), especially through the delivery of its Global Training Programme.

Between April and the beginning of December 2025, FAO delivered eight intensive international training courses to 200 government officers working in various fields linked to the implementation of international instruments to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and the PSMA, coming from 57 countries from Asia, the Pacific, Africa, and Latin America.

The courses were intensive in nature, of a duration of 2 – 3 weeks each, delivered in the three PSMA training hubs in Busan (the Republic of Korea), Vigo (Spain), and Msida (Malta). Thematic areas covered fisheries law, monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS), enforcement, and port inspections, and included theory and several hands-on experiences.

In numbers:

• 8 international training courses
• 200 government officials trained
• 57 beneficiary countries
• Covering: fisheries law, enforcement, MCS, PSMA port inspections, and high seas boarding operations

Global Reach

Asia and the Pacific

Bangladesh · Cambodia · China · Fiji · India · Indonesia · Maldives · Papua New Guinea · Philippines · Republic of Korea · Samoa · Singapore · Solomon Islands · Sri Lanka · Thailand · Timor-Leste · Tonga · Tuvalu · Vanuatu · Viet Nam

Africa

Angola · Benin · Cameroon · Cabo Verde · Côte d’Ivoire · Djibouti · Equatorial Guinea · Gabon · Ghana · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Kenya · Libya · Madagascar · Mauritania · Mauritius · Morocco · Mozambique · Namibia ·  Sao Tome and Principe · Senegal · Seychelles · South Africa · Tunisia

Latin America and the Caribbean

Argentina · Brazil · Colombia · Costa Rica · Dominican Republic · Ecuador · El Salvador · Guatemala · Honduras · Mexico · Panama · Peru · Uruguay

Course Highlights:

In 2025 we successfully delivered:

• 7^th, 8^th, and 9^th editions of the FAO International Course on Fisheries Law
• 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th editions of the FAO International Course on Fisheries Port Inspections in support of the Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA)
• 3^rd edition of the FAO Advanced International Training Course on Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS)
• 1^st edition of the FAO International Course on Fisheries Law Enforcement

Topics covered included:

• Public international law
• Law of the sea and fisheries legislation
• Fisheries management
• Monitoring, Control and Surveillance
• PSMA inspection procedures
• Enforcement
• FAO information system
• Practical exercises, simulated court sessions, field visits, and hands-on port inspections.

These initiatives contribute directly to the FAO Strategic Framework 2022–31 and SDG 14 on sustainably using and conserving our oceans.

These courses were possible thanks to the following partners:

• Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries of the Republic of Korea
• Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
• the European Union
• IMO International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI)
• Local institutions and experts in Busan, Vigo, and Malta.