Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing
The Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing is a 2009 international treaty of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) designed to prevent and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
Content
The treaty requires that fishing vessels request permission to dock at a port and inform the port of the details of its fishing operations. Permission to dock can be denied if unregulated fishing occurred. The measure is intended to block illegally caught fish from entering the marketplace. Other measures in the treaty include inspections of equipment, paperwork, catches, and ship's records. Though the treaty does not compel countries to apply these measures to ships under their own flags, they may choose to do so under the agreement.[1][2]
Creation and entry into force
The treaty was concluded on 22 November 2009 at the 36th Session of the FAO Conference held in Rome. Ninety-one states negotiated and agreed to the treaty text.[2] Twenty-three states signed the treaty while it was open for signature in 2009 and 2010.
The treaty entered into force on 5 June 2016, which was 30 days after it was ratified by a 25th state. As of September 2018, the treaty has 55 parties, which includes 54 states plus the European Union:
Albania
Australia
Bahamas
Barbados
Cape Verde
Chile
Costa Rica
Cuba
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
European Union
France
Gabon
Gambia
Ghana
Grenada
Guinea
Guyana
Iceland
Indonesia
Japan
Kenya
Madagascar
Maldives
Mauritania
Mauritius
Montenegro
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
New Zealand
Norway
Oman
Palau
Panama
Peru
Philippines
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Sao Tome and Principe
Senegal
Seychelles
Somalia
South Africa
South Korea
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Thailand
Togo
Tonga
Turkey
United States
Uruguay
Vanuatu
Six signatory states have not ratified the treaty: Angola, Benin, Brazil, Canada, Samoa, and Sierra Leone.
Notes
- "FAO: New treaty will leave fish pirates without safe haven". MercoPress. 2009-09-01.
- "91 countries agree to illegal fishing treaty". The Associated Press. 2009-09-01.
External links
- Text, fao.org.
- Signatures and ratifications, fao.org.