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FAO plan on illegal fishing

The European Commission welcomes the international Plan of Action to curb illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, which was adopted by the Committee on Fisheries of the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization). "Illegal fishing is a scourge which compromises our efforts to achieve sustainable fisheries and, if not curbed, even threatens to destroy entire fisheries. This plan of action will help the international community to fight back", Franz Fischler, Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries said. From the start, the EU has been one of the most active promoters of the Plan of Action and has been extensively involved in its formulation. In its view, the State has primary responsibility for fisheries activities as flag state, port state and import state. The adopted Plan of Action clarifies these responsibilities and helps to fill a number of loopholes in international law. However, there is also a need to implement existing international legal instruments. In this respect, Mr. Fischler regretted the fact that some EU Member States have still not ratified the 1995 United Nations Agreement on Straddling Stocks, which represents an effective instrument to combat illegal fishing. "It is a pity that some Member States have failed to realize the urgency of enabling this Agreement to enter into force", he said.

The FAO Plan of Action concerns all forms of illegal fishing activities, which contravene national laws, conservation and management measures adopted by Regional Fisheries Organizations (RFOs) or international obligations. It also addresses "unregulated fishing", i.e. activities conducted in areas managed by RFOs by non-party vessels and contravening their regulations, as well as fishing activities in the high seas conducted in a way inconsistent with State responsibilities for the conservation of marine resources under international law. The Action Plan also relates to "unreported fishing", that is activities carried out in waters under national jurisdiction, in areas under the responsibility of RFOs or on the high seas, which are illegal by virtue of not having been reported, or having been misreported, to the relevant authorities in violation of the applicable rules.

The Plan includes a comprehensive set of measures around four main axes:

• Flag State Control: each State is responsible for monitoring compliance by persons, companies and vessels under its jurisdiction with national, regional and international fisheries regulations;
  
  
• Coastal State Control: States are responsible for monitoring fishing activities conducted in their waters;
  
  
• Port State Control: States have to take appropriate measures to combat illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing activities as illegal goods necessarily transit through ports; such measures may include monitoring of arrivals and departures, inspection of fishing gears, catches, crews and any other element as required;
  
  
• Market Control: States must monitor goods imported or traded on their territory, so that no economic benefit is made from selling illegal goods.

By stressing the main responsibility of the flag State towards vessels under its jurisdiction, the Action Plan brings forward the concept of genuine link between the vessel and the State whose flag it flies, in order to combat the pernicious practice of "flags of convenience". An increasing number of vessels are being registered in countries, which lack either the means or the will to control effectively the activities of vessels flying their flag.

It also underlines the need to strengthen control and enforcement throughout the fisheries chain, from the catching, to the landing and marketing.

In order to ensure rapid implementation of the measures foreseen, the Plan of Action calls on all States to draft national action plans and to co-operate with all parties concerned. The Action Plan also stresses the importance of Regional Fisheries Organizations in the fight against illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing. As some have already done, such organizations may take dissuasive trade measures, agreed multilaterally, to avoid illegal imports and discriminatory trade.

The Plan of Action also underlines the need to address the specific needs of developing countries to enable them to acquire the means to implement this Plan.

The international action against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing is included in the context of the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, which was adopted in 1995. The development of a Plan of Action was decided in March 1999, after an FAO Ministerial Meeting on Fisheries had called for the establishment of an international plan to deal effectively with this problem following reports of an increase in such fishing activities, including those of "flags of convenience" fishing vessels.

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