The recent entry into force of a ground-breaking
international accord on illegal fishing is a welcome development but it now
requires "strong and effective implementation", says Food and
Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Director-General José Graziano da Silva, reports NaijaAgroNet.
In his speech at the Our Ocean Conference in the United States capital,
Graziano da Silva lauded the signatories of the FAO-brokered Agreement on Port
State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and
Unregulated Fishing (PSMA).
Also, da Silva provided United States Secretary of State
John Kerry with an update on the status of the treaty, which came into force in
June.
"In 2014 only 10 nations had ratified the PSMA,"
Kerry noted in his conference address. "All of us then decided that we
could do better and we did ... because more than 60 nations have now ratified
the PSMA and that is critical," he said, urging all other countries to
follow suit in adhering to the treaty.
"We need everyone to come onboard, otherwise rogue
fishing vessels will continue to find ways to land and introduce their illegal
catches into the markets of non-PSMA countries," da Silva said.
He likened adherence to the treaty to the international
community's commitment to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),
"a situation in which no one can be left behind."
NaijaAgroNet recalls that under the treaty, parties are obliged
to implement a number of measures while managing ports under their control, to
detect illegal fishing, preventing ill-caught fish from being offloaded and sold,
and ensuring that information on unscrupulous vessels is shared globally.
Isaac Oyimah/GEE
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Pix: FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva