FAO and Indonesia to strengthen the effective implementation of the PSMA
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Indonesia will strengthen the already good cooperation that exists between the two, under the existing Port State Measures Support Project, to accelerate the effective implementation of the 2009 FAO Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA) in the country
In a meeting held between FAO and the Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries last month, the two agreed on several initiatives, including the establishment of two Task Forces, one on legal and policy matters, and another on monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) and operations; the provision of technical assistance to strengthen the Ministry’s Secretariat on port State measures; and the assessment of concrete capacity needs in the four designated ports under the PSMA, starting with Jakarta.
The meeting was held to review the workplan 2021—2023 of the Port State Measures Support Project, funded by Norway under the FAO’s Global PSMA Capacity Development Programme, to discuss the status of the project and future planned activities under the circumstances of the global pandemic.
During the meeting, the Indonesian Ministry presented its priorities given its recent institutional reform and the adoption of a new legal framework for fisheries in the country.
FAO welcomed Indonesia’s offer to host the fourth Meeting of the Parties to the PSMA, planned for May 2023, underlining the country’s leading role in the international fight against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and looks forward to continuing supporting Indonesia in the effective implementation of the PSMA, complementary international instruments and regional mechanisms to combat IUU fishing.
The Indonesian Ministry was represented by the Heads of the Legal Bureau, the Directorate for Capture Fisheries, and the Directorate General of Marine and Fisheries Resources Surveillance, and their teams, together with the Chair of the Meeting of the Parties to the PSMA, Mr. Nilanto Prebowo. FAO was represented through the FAO Representative in Indonesia, staff from the FAO Office in the country, and members of the FAO Fisheries Global and Regional Processes Team at Headquarters.