Closing the Gap: Comparing IATTC's port State measures with the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures
The Pew Environment Group conducted a gap analysis to identify specific disparities in port State measures (PSMs) adopted by 10 regional fisheries management organisations (RFMOs) as they compare to the FAO Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA). The goal of this research is to offer information that RFMOs can use to strengthen their own port State control systems and, as a result, help reduce illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, on both a regional and global scale.
This report presents the findings of the gap analysis conducted for the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC). Conclusions from this study indicate that IATTC has an underdeveloped system of port State controls when compared with the PSMA and other RFMOs, including other tuna RFMOs. Many of the key provisions of the PSMA aimed at controlling IUU fishing are either missing or only applicable to specific situations. We recommend that IATTC work to improve its port State measures by, among others:
- requiring its Parties to notify other international actors about their actions against IUU fishing vessels;
- designating ports for entry of foreign vessels; requiring prior-to-entry information from vessels;
- denying entry into port to IUU fishing vessels or taking equally effective port State measures against them;
- and denying IUU fishing vessels any access to port services.
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