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The main information exchange requirements for States under the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA) are now covered by the PSMA Global Information Exchange System (GIES) as an additional form has been released.

The State Action form fulfils the PSMA requirements on actions that may be taken by States following inspections of fishing vessels and vessels involved in fishing related activities. Port States and flag States will now be able to report, in a standard and streamlined way, on actions taken following inspection on vessels, through one official and practical tool.

The release of this form in the PSMA GIES, together with features introduced earlier such as the ARPE, and information on National Contact Points and Designated Ports, strengthen the implementation of the PSMA by Parties, making the information exchange process more efficient for States to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

In recent weeks, the PSMA Secretariat also released a Live Chat feature that allows direct and secure communication amongst Parties, non-Parties, and operators of foreign vessels seeking entry into port or use of port services, which is an added feature of the GIES to help detect IUU fishing, as well as supplementary forms for transshipment and landing declarations in line with the FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Transshipment. 

The PSMA GIES was developed with funding from the Government of Iceland, which also supports its maintenance and operation together with the European Union. Development of ARPE was co-financed by the Government of Germany.