FAO calls for more funds to fight against illegal fishing

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Tuesday, in Rome, called for more funds to help it fight against illegal fishing in developing countries.
The FAO has thus appealed to its donor countries for US$1million to support its project that has been designed to help deny port access to boats involved in Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing.
“In the developing world, fishing plays a crucial role in reinforcing household food security, improving nutrition, and providing income. In light of rising world food prices and growing concern over the wellbeing of some wild fish stocks, we can afford less than ever to allow IUU fishing to impact these communities,” said FAO Assistant-Director General for Fisheries, Ichiro Nomura at a briefing session with donor countries.Report from the organization’s websites indicates that the funds would be used to finance an ongoing FAO project launched in 2005 when the UN agency developed a Model Scheme for stronger “port state measures” that could be adopted by countries in order to combat IUU fishing.
The Port State measures include activities such as undertaking inspections of
documentation, catches and equipment when boats land to take on fuel and supplies or
offload fish or requiring vessels to make activity reports before entering port.
Vessels found to be involved in IUU fishing can be denied docking rights, causing considerable financial losses to their owners. Such measures are among the most-effective means of preventing the import, transshipment or laundering of illegally caught fish. IUU fishing is particularly problematic in the developing world, where limited funds and expertise mean that oversight of fishing activities in coastal waters is often lax and port controls are weak. IUU fishers target developing countries because they provide
convenient entry points for illegal catches.
"These countries need exposure to state-of-the art practices, training for their line officials, and to establish better lines of communication at the regional level to share
information on offenders and harmonize actions,” said Mr. Nomura.
To meet these needs, FAO initiated a series of regional workshops in order to assess the status of port state measures in different parts of the world, identify ways regions might incorporate components from FAO’s Model Scheme, and promote greater harmonization of port state measures. The workshops are targeted to port inspectors, fisheries
authorities, legal experts, foreign affairs officials and customs officers.
Nomura added that momentum is building towards the adoption in the near future of a legally binding international agreement on port state measures based on the FAO Model Scheme, lending additional urgency to the need to build national capacities for
implementing effective port state measures.
“The workshops will allow countries to hit the ground running when the international agreement comes into force,” he said.