Global Information Exchange System (GIES) prototype presented to PSMA Parties before the Third Meeting of the Parties to the PSMA
Around 300 participants attended three Webinars organised by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in preparation of the Third Meeting of the Parties to the 2009 FAO Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA).
The Webinars were held on 17, 18, and 19 May 2021, for different regions and time zones around the world.
During these Webinars, the prototype of the PSMA Global Information Exchange System (GIES), requested by the Parties to the PSMA, was presented for the first time to representatives of the Parties to the PSMA as well as to non-Parties and observers.
The GIES is the tool that will support Parties in fulfilling their obligations under the Agreement by sharing information among them with the purpose to assist each other in blocking the entrance of fish products derived from IUU fishing from entering the international markets. Port entry/use denials and inspection reports of foreign vessels under reasonable suspicion to have been engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing are to be shared through the GIES.
The prototype of the software developed is a fully functioning system that can store and share information essential to the effective implementation of the PSMA between different States, including non-Parties to the Agreement. FAO presented an overview of the new application, its main functionalities, and went through different examples of how States can use this application in real-life scenarios.
Following these three Webinars, Parties to the PSMA will be given credentials to test the GIES prior to the upcoming Third Meeting of the Parties, when Parties are expected to take decisions about the application’s operationalisation to determine the way forward.
During the last part of the Webinars, FAO introduced another application it developed – the Global Capacity Development Portal (GCDP) App – which will serve as a portal to share information submitted by leading implementing institutions on projects carried out globally in relation to IUU fishing or the PSMA. The CD Portal will enhance coordination of capacity development support efforts globally.
Earlier, Dr Matthew Camilleri, Leader of the FAO Fisheries Global and Regional Processes Team, and Dr Blaise Kuemlangan, Chief, Development Law Service of FAO’s Legal Office, gave an overview of the PSMA, the current Parties, and the Global Capacity Development Programme through which more than 40 countries have or are in the process of benefiting. They also provided context on the upcoming Third Meeting of the Parties and the importance this meeting has on the way forward for the Agreement, which will be chartered by States attending the meeting.