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FAO experts and the Philippines’ Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) carried out a joint legal and monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) review mission to support the country in enhancing its legal, institutional and operational capacities to be in a better position to implement the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA) and combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Guided by the FAO methodology, the MCS review took stock of current MCS arrangements and assessed the extent to which these enable the Philippines to meet its obligations as a port, flag, coastal and market State. Field visits were made to one of the Philippines designated ports under the PSMA in General Santos, as well as a cold storage and the Philippine’s largest canning facility. The visit at the port of General Santos allowed the mission team to follow an inspection of a foreign flagged carrier vessel led by BFAR’s enforcement officers. 

As part of the legal review of the country’s fisheries legislative and policy framework, FAO and BFAR met with key institutions including the Philippine Coast Guard, the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority, the Philippine National Police Maritime Group, the Maritime Industry Authority, the Philippine Ports Authority, and the Ministry of Justice. This allowed the team to gain a better understanding of their respective legal frameworks and mandates when it comes to fisheries, as well as their roles related to the implementation of port State measures and respective obligations to implement complementary international instruments and regional mechanisms to combat IUU fishing. 

A legal report and an MCS report will now follow, forming the basis of FAO’s assistance to the Philippines moving forward.

This mission was possible as a result of the “Seventh PSMA Global Capacity Development Programme Support Project” funded by the European Union.