Report of the FAO/GFCM Workshop on Port State Measures to Combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing. Rome, 10-12 December 2007.
FAO is supporting the implementation of the 2005 FAO Model Scheme on Port State Measures to Combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (FAO Model Scheme), including at regional level.
The thirty-first session of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (Rome, January 2007) agreed that a workshop on port State measures be convened, mindful of international fisheries instruments, recent developments in international fora and the desirability of strengthening controls, based on the FAO Model Scheme.
The main objective of the workshop was to consider GFCM Members’ coordinated efforts regarding the strengthening and the harmonization of port State measures in the near future and, as a result, build on the requirements of the General Guidelines for a GFCM Control and Enforcement Scheme. In this respect, the workshop followed-up on the outcomes of the 2004 GFCM Workshop on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing in the Mediterranean. This report reviews GFCM Members’ port State measures with the aim to assess strengths, weaknesses, gaps and constraints for regional cooperation. It is based on the responses to a questionnaire filled in by the GFCM Members.
In addition, existing laws and regulations enacted at national level by GFCM Members concerning port State measures are reported and compared to the provisions of the FAO Model Scheme. A summary of options for GFCM consideration were recommended to strengthen port State controls in the GFCM area since there appears to be a significant scope for further harmonization.
To this end, aspects such as cooperation among GFCM Members, including exchange of information and training of inspectors, the need for qualified human resources and efforts to develop integrated mechanisms of control both at national and regional levels will be prominent in the fight against IUU fishing. A regional scheme on port State measures by the GFCM, building on the IPOA–IUU and the FAO Model Scheme, was suggested.