FAO-GFCM strengthening efforts to eradicate IUU

According to the GFCM, member countries are working collectively to establish and implement all necessary measures to protect the well-being of the seas and the livelihoods of coastal communities, and it is actively supporting these efforts, ensuring compliance with regulations in place.

In 2017, GFCM adopted a Regional Plan of Action to Combat IUU Fishing (RPOA-IUU), offering guidance to GFCM members on how to combat IUU fishing through national plans while working to harmonise relevant measures across the region. At the same time, the GFCM-Lex platform, a multilingual online repository of national fisheries legislation, provides a strong foundation for a united approach to regulation in the fight against IUU fishing.

“This year, Albania has made significant efforts in combating IUU fishing through impactful measures. We are amending the national law on fisheries to further align it with GFCM recommendations, also introducing a restructured sanction system that ensures penalties are proportional to the severity of infringements,” said Marco Kule, Fisheries and Aquaculture Policies Specialist, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Albania.

GFCM explained that reinforcing regional control and enforcement mechanisms is a critical aspect of its work and that this goal is in line with the overall objective of extending the reach of the GFCM Compliance Committee – by building capacity to ensure its growing number of tools in the fight against IUU fishing are in place and operational across all the subregions of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.

“The fight against IUU is a top priority for the European Union and its member states. Over the last 10 years, we have developed a lot of tools in the Mediterranean in order to combat IUU activities, particularly in improving the capacities of all Mediterranean countries,” said Valérie Lainé, Head of Unit, Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, European Commission.

GFCM explained it is supporting countries in their efforts to eradicate IUU fishing through a variety of tools, ranging from technology to training programmes and digital solutions like electronic logbooks. It has also laid down minimum technical standards for a vessel monitoring system (VMS) to allow members to track vessels’ positions and activities in real time and send data to a centralised repository where they can be used both to inform fisheries management strategies and to detect IUU activity.

Meanwhile, progress is ongoing on catch reporting mechanisms for small-scale fisheries tailored to the needs of the sector.

“Turkey has demonstrated a long-standing commitment to sustainable fisheries, recognising the importance of responsible stewardship in ensuring the health and viability of marine ecosystems. In line with this commitment, Türkiye has taken monitoring, control and surveillance measures to higher levels [than ever before],” said Erdinç Güneş, Senior Fisheries Expert, General Directorate of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Turkey.

Detection and enforcement are further underpinned by standard vessel sighting procedures and a regional fleet register listing all the larger vessels (over 15 metres in length overall) that are allowed to fish, transship or land in waters of the GFCM area of application. Conversely, none of these actions are permitted for vessels not on the list.

Similarly, the port state measures adopted by GFCM contracting parties oblige any foreign vessel wishing to enter or use their ports to prove that they have not been involved in IUU activities.

“Since the launch of its Halieutic strategy in 2009, Morocco has made significant efforts in terms of resource sustainability, particularly to combat IUU fishing. Within this framework, it established a catch certification system. It has also equipped vessels over 12 metres with VMS,” said Fatima Zohra Hassouni, Head of the sustainability and resource management division, Maritime Fisheries Directorate, Morocco.

One of RFMO’s latest innovations in the field is the introduction of catch documentation schemes (CDS) for key commercial species in the context of GFCM multiannual management plans. In 2023, countries adopted two binding recommendations for permanent CDS: one for red coral in the Mediterranean and one for turbot in the Black Sea.

Tagging and other traceability tools will be used to certify that harvests and catches, respectively, have been made in line with conservation and management measures, mitigating the risk of illegally sourced products entering the market.

With each new tool and measure put in place, illegal operations become more and more difficult, GFCM said.

“The objective [of the control of compliance with regulations] is to avoid resorting to the use of prohibited gear and the landing of unauthorised or prohibited fishing products. The second aspect is dissemination and awareness. This is done through seminars with professionals and fishers and in collaboration with civil society. The aim is also to raise awareness among people not to buy products that may come from prohibited fishing,” said Ali Cheikh Sboui, Director General, Directorate General of Fisheries and Aquaculture (DGPA), Tunisia.

It is estimated that IUU fishing accounts for about 20% of the world’s catch. It creates unfair competition with compliant fishers, threatening the livelihoods of coastal communities.