The Central American Fisheries and Aquaculture Organization (OSPESCA) has launched a new regional project to fight IUU fishing at ports under the jurisdiction of its eight member countries.
The new project aims to bolster members’ ability to protect their borders and ensure that their ports employ the highest international standards for fishing vessel control.
Orestes Ortez, El Salvador’s minister of agriculture and president pro tem of OSPESCA, expressed his country’s support for the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA) to ensure sustainability and better position the region’s seafood products in international markets.
The Central American states have adopted legally binding regional regulations that provide guidance for coordinating efforts to prevent, deter, and eliminate illegal fishing. This new project will apply a capacity needs assessment methodology to determine the specific requirements of each country in order to implement port controls. By utilising this methodology regionally, OSPESCA intends to contribute substantially to the eradication of illegal fishing.
The OSPESCA project will provide fisheries authorities with a better understanding of port capacities, as well as insight on national and regional requirements related to the ratification and implementation of the PSMA. Costa Rica was the first Central American country to adhere to the PSMA, which will enter into force once ratified by 25 U.N. member states.
“The regional effort announced today is a critical step in keeping illegally caught fish from entering the market,” said Tony Long, director of The Pew Charitable Trusts’ campaign to end illegal fishing. “When states come together and operate as a united front, they maximise the impact of efforts to stop illegal fishing by denying access to neighbouring ports.”
This regional effort is supported in part by The Pew Charitable Trusts.
