Let us work together and learn from each other: Minister Koroilavesau
The statement below was delivered by the Minister for Fisheries Hon. Semi Koroilavesau during the Regional FAO Port States Measure Agreement Meeting this week.
The Vice Minister for Aquaculture and Fisheries of Ecuador, Hon. Andres Arens
The FAO Head of Fishing Operations and Technology, Dr. Mathew Camilleri and Fisheries Officer Ms. Alicia Mosteiro
Representatives from Distinguished Regional Fisheries Management Organisations
Regional and National Fisheries Practitioners
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Bula Vinaka and greetings to you all.
I would like to firstly acknowledge the work that has been done in the lead up to this important regional meeting on the FAO Port States Measures Agreement (PSMA) that Fiji is fortunate to host.
I would also like to extend the Fijian Government’s support for such an important tool that ensures the collective protection of our Ocean resources, from illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing (IUU).
From the outset I would like to bring your attention to the 2016 Report on IUU released by the Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), which highlighted that FFA member countries lose hundreds of millions annually to IUU. This translates to billions of dollars of lost development opportunities over the past decades. Development needs of Pacific Island Countries (PICs) could be met partly, if we were to contain this leakage and ensure that the revenue from our ocean is channelled into our economies. And this is all the more reason why Pacific Islands Countries need to strengthen our collaboration.
The FAO Port States Measures Agreement is the first international binding agreement that specifically targets IUU fishing. It outlines the minimum set of standards and measures for Parties to apply when foreign vessels seek entry into our respective ports or while they are in their ports.
Throughout the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO), Fiji, Vanuatu, Tonga, Palau, Australia and New Zealand are amongst the 69 countries including the European Union to be Parties to the Agreement which entered into force in June 2016.
Our regional commitment to take the step towards ratification of the agreement signifies our collective commitment and determination to address the global threat of IUU through stringent Port State controls.
PSMA Benefits
There are many benefits of the PSMA, and I would like to touch briefly on a few:
■ It complements the efforts of flag States in fulfilling their responsibilities under international law – it provides an opportunity for port States to check and verify that vessels not flying their flags and that seek permission to enter their ports, or that are already in their ports, have not engaged in IUU fishing;
■ It enhances flag State control over vessels as it requires the flag State to take certain actions, at the request of the port State, or when vessels flying their flag are determined to have been involved in IUU fishing;
■ It requires better and more effective cooperation and information exchange among coastal States, flag States and Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs);
■ It addresses and prevents the occurrence of so-called ports of non-compliance or ports of convenience;
■ It is a cost-effective tool in ensuring compliance with national law and regional conservation and management measures adopted by RFMOs;
■ It contributes to strengthened fisheries management and governance at all levels. Implementing port state measures through national legislation will give an incentive to establish coordinated procedures and facilitate inter-agency cooperation; and
■ It can prevent fish caught from IUU fishing activities from reaching national and international markets, by making it more difficult to market fish through the application of port State measures.
Need for effective implementation
Whilst these are just some of the underlying benefits of PSMA, it is critical to note that these and other benefits can only be achieved through the effective implementation of its provisions and standards. This means concerted actions by States in the implementation of the PSMA is required. This can be done through regional mechanisms developed by RFMOs and other regional entities.
This regional meeting indicates our collective commitment and is a perfect platform that can contribute to our implementation capacity.
Since the first meeting of the Parties, upon the suggestion of the Pacific Islands group through Tonga’s intervention, the importance of convening regional meetings to coordinate and monitor the implementation of the Agreement was agreed upon.
Fiji’s commitment
Fiji is committed to act at the national and regional levels to safeguard our ocean and ensure sustainable fisheries, through the implementation of the PSMA and other regional mechanisms.
The PSMA highlights the significance of cooperation and Fiji is honoured to reaffirm this through the hosting of the first PSMA regional coordination meeting organised by FAO.
Meeting outcomes
It is important to note that the outcome of this meeting is valuable in the process of drawing up a strategy to improve the effectiveness of the Agreement which will be addressed formally by the PSMA Strategy adhoc Working Group, to be held later this year.
Within this process, information exchange is at the heart of the effective implementation of the PSMA. It is important for existing relevant regional information exchange systems to facilitate the sharing of information among Parties through the PSMA Global Information Exchange System.
This regional coordination meeting will address this critical matter and others that address capacity development in developing countries. Especially Small Island States which depend extensively on fisheries for their livelihood, sustenance and economic development.
As Pacific Island Countries (PICs), we should also start looking beyond the successful PSMA implementation. This means investing in technology for monitoring purposes, for instance. While Fiji is leading with the FAO-supported Vessel Monitoring System, which hopefully can be replicated in other PICs, it will greatly assist if PICs have access to constant ‘eye in the sky’ surveillance through satellite and other associated aerial surveillance systems. These will complement the aerial surveillance support from traditional partners such as Australia and New Zealand.
Conclusion
I wish to highlight once again the important role that we all play towards addressing the global threat of IUU. We should all take time within the week to identify areas of improvement on how best to deter and eliminate IUU. While we may be limited as individual nations, we must always remember that our strength is through collaboration.
As the host of this regional meeting, I would like to thank FAO for its support in further developing our region’s capacity to implement port State measures and combat IUU fishing. We also recognise FAO’s efforts in delivering its capacity development programmes around the globe.
While the pandemic has caused limitations on our capacity to increase the number of participants in this meeting, I am confident that the meeting will still achieve its objectives through a hybrid system of attendance in person and virtually, and through your active contributions.
I reiterate that the losses incurred by IUU must be taken seriously by PICs as nations of large ocean states. Real economic growth and financial independence can be realised if we work towards plugging the gaps that contribute to significant losses from our natural resources.
Let us work together, let us learn from one another and let us keep striving towards a sustainable blue ocean for the sustenance of our economies, our livelihood and the livelihood of our future generations.