FAO signs treaty against illegal fishing

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has signed a new treaty aimed at closing fishing ports to ships involved in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities.

In a statement issued yesterday, the organisation stated that once the treaty comes into force, it will be the first ever legally binding international treaty focused specifically on the problem. According to it: “The treaty will also be the only one to enlist so called “non-flag states” in the fight against IUU fishing, alongside flag states that are primarily responsible for the conduct of vessel flying their flag on high seas.”

Fishing agreement

The agreement is set to enter into force once it is ratified by 25 countries. It has so far been signed by 11 members (Angola, Brazil, Chile, the European Community, Indonesia, Iceland, Norway, Samoa, Sierra Leone, the United States and Uruguay) immediately following its approval by the conference.

IUU is often used to describe the wide range of fishing activities that are banned under the national and international laws of conventions, as most of the activities conducted under the act are regarded as fish piracy.

According to the statement: “By signing the treaty, the governments are committing themselves to prevent, deter and eventually eliminate IUU fishing. This includes taking steps to guard their ports against vessels engaged in IUU fishing, thereby preventing fish from such vessels from entering international markets”.

Objective accomplished

Ichiro Nomura, assistant director-general of FAO’s fisheries department said this is the most significant treaty dealing with fisheries since the 1995 UN Fish Stock Agreement.

“This is a milestone achievement, no longer will we solely rely on the ability of fishing nations to monitor behaviour by vessels flying their flags on the open waters of the oceans, now countries are committed to taking steps to identify, report and deny entry of offenders at ports where fishing fleets are received. That’s a key back-door that will be slammed shut with the new international treaty,” he said.

Problems with the IUU

According to the world food body, the most common IUU fishing violations involve fishing without licences and the use of illegal gears, the disregard for established fishing season by the illegal fishermen and fishing in closed areas and catches of illegal or undersized species.

“The IUU operate without proper authorization, catching protected species, using outlawed types of gear or disregarding catch quotas. IUU fishing damages the productivity of fisheries and could lead to their collapse. That’s a serious problem for the people who depend on these resources for food and income,” said the statement.

In 2006, the General Assembly of the UN expressed concern on the activities of the fish pirates “as it remains one of the greatest threats to marine ecosystems and continues to have serious and major implications for the conservation and management of ocean resources.”

Wole Alegbeleye, a lecturer in the fishery department, University of Agriculture, Abeokuta said this is one of the problems with the coastal waters in Nigeria which has made her depend on external source for consumption of fish. “Both the local and industrial sector has over exploited the waters and this and pollution has reduced the breeding capacity of the fish in our coastal line.”

Ways to combat illegal fishing

While there are various ways of combating the activities of the fish pirates, most of them are regarded as often too expensive for developing countries to implement, given the large ocean space needed to be monitored and the cost of technology required for the monitoring.

As a result, FAO believes the port state measures as one of the best and most efficient ways to fight the battle. Since the port state measures will allow the coastal countries having the seaports and harbour where the fishing vessels will be docked to offload or tranship their catches, get food and supplies.

According to the statement, to curb the menace of fish pirates, the port will henceforth require foreign fishing vessels wishing to dock to ask for permission from the designated ports ahead of time, transmitting information on their activities and the fish they have on board. This will give authorities an opportunity to spot any red flags in advance.

“As a regular inspection of ships according to a common set of standards will also be conducted from time to time, reviewing of ship papers, surveys of fishing gear, examining catches and checking a ship’s records can often reveal if it has engaged in IUU fishing.

“Parties to the agreement are obliged to undertake regular monitoring of compliance, with a major review scheduled to occur four years after the Agreement first takes effect’’, said the statement.