The Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), Chaves Xinia Quirós, has participated in the Technical Consultation on measures to prevent and deter illegal fishing, held by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome.
The objective of the meeting was to seek consensus among member countries to define the responsibilities of States on unreported and unregulated fishing, not only in the maritime jurisdiction of each country, but also in the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ).
As part of this initiative, the MAG will boost, from 2011, the file No 18320, on the approval of the accession to the WTO Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing.
According to the FAO, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing poses a global threat to sustainable fisheries and for the management and conservation of fisheries resources and marine biodiversity.
The FAO also mentioned that vessels which do not meet the new requirements of the Agreement, will be denied access to the port.
Measures of Port State Control (MEP), are the requirements or interventions carried out by states, which foreign fishing vessels must comply with, as a condition for the use of ports.
The MEP Agreement was approved by the FAO Conference at its 36th session in November 2009, and specifies that foreign vessels must notify in advance and request permission to States to be allowed entry to the port.
Source: TheFishSite