The Symposium was held from with the purpose of raising general awareness about the potential effectiveness of strengthened and coordinated port State measure and to develop national capacity and promote regional coordination so that countries would be better placed to improve the management of offshore fisheries and combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the Indian Ocean and, as a result, meet the requirements of relevant RFMOs. The Symposium addressed a broad range of issues fundamental to the implementation of effective port State measures. Issues and initiatives addressed in the Symposium included the international and regional frameworks for port State measures, the legal tools and mechanisms that might be used to implement such measures, the role of information systems, human resource development and stakeholder actions. The convenors of the Symposium and Workshop expected that they would result in improved capacity for countries to strengthen and coordinate their port State measures with the objective of better managing offshore fisheries and deterring IUU fishing.

This document contains the report of the FAO Regional Workshop on Port State Measures to Combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing, which was held at Cape Town, South Africa, from 28 to 31 January 2008. The objective of the Workshop was to develop national capacity and promote bilateral, sub-regional and/or regional coordination so that countries will be better placed to strengthen and harmonize port State measures and, as a result, implement the relevant International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IPOA-IUU) tools and the FAO Model Scheme and contribute to the development of a legally-binding instrument on port State measures. The Workshop addressed: background and framework for port State measures; global and regional issues relating to IUU fishing and port State measures, and the 2005 FAO Model Scheme on Port State Measures to Combat IUU Fishing; the 2007 draft Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing and the implementation of regional and national port State measures; adoption and implementation of port State measures by regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) and the implementation of measures in the Southern and East Africa subregion; operational and information requirements for effective port State measures; industry perspectives on port State measures and national responses to questionnaires; and key issues for further action and cooperation in strengthening and harmonizing port State measures. Working groups were formed to enhance the participatory nature of the Workshop and as a means of engendering broader and deeper discussion on concepts and issues relating to port State measures. In one exercise they addressed various aspects of port State measures, and recommended and prioritized areas for regional cooperation in implementing port State measures. They also identified further types of support needed to implement port State measures and in another exercise they considered certain thematic aspects relating to the FAO Model Scheme and the draft Agreement on port State measures. This exercise included legal aspects, information requirements, systems and inspection procedures, the results of inspection and training. Funding and support for the Workshop were provided by the FAO Regular Programme, by the Government of Norway through the Trust Fund for Port State Measures (MTF/GLO/206/MUL) and the FishCode Programme (MTF/GLO/125/MUL [Sweden-SIDA] [SWE/05/IUU Port State Measures/IUU fishing]). Funding was also provided by the UK Department for International Development (DFID).

Thirty-four experts on marine affairs and the law of the sea, from six continents, examine the emerging challenges for our World Ocean. The accumulating consequences of human activities on the seas indicate that the Earth may already have entered a new epoch, the Anthropocene, dominated by the human impact. This volume analyses developments in the interface of law, technology and science in some central law-of-the-sea issue areas. These are explored systematically in sections on the World Ocean in the Anthropocene epoch (Part I); combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (Part II); combating illegal oil spills from ships (Part III); marine genetic resources and bioprospecting (Part IV); and the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines (Part V).

"A publication of the National Research Council of Canada Monograph Publishing Program."

This document contains the report of the FAO Regional Workshop on Port State Measures to Combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing, which was held at Cape Town, South Africa, from 28 to 31 January 2008. The objective of the Workshop was to develop national capacity and promote bilateral, sub-regional and/or regional coordination so that countries will be better placed to strengthen and harmonize port State measures and, as a result, implement the relevant International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IPOA-IUU) tools and the FAO Model Scheme and contribute to the development of a legally-binding instrument on port State measures. The Workshop addressed: background and framework for port State measures; global and regional issues relating to IUU fishing and port State measures, and the 2005 FAO Model Scheme on Port State Measures to Combat IUU Fishing; the 2007 draft Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing and the implementation of regional and national port State measures; adoption and implementation of port State measures by regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) and the implementation of measures in the Southern and East Africa subregion; operational and information requirements for effective port State measures; industry perspectives on port State measures and national responses to questionnaires; and key issues for further action and cooperation in strengthening and harmonizing port State measures. Working groups were formed to enhance the participatory nature of the Workshop and as a means of engendering broader and deeper discussion on concepts and issues relating to port State measures. In one exercise they addressed various aspects of port State measures, and recommended and prioritized areas for regional cooperation in implementing port State measures. They also identified further types of support needed to implement port State measures and in another exercise they considered certain thematic aspects relating to the FAO Model Scheme and the draft Agreement on port State measures. This exercise included legal aspects, information requirements, systems and inspection procedures, the results of inspection and training. Funding and support for the Workshop were provided by the FAO Regular Programme, by the Government of Norway through the Trust Fund for Port State Measures (MTF/GLO/206/MUL) and the FishCode Programme (MTF/GLO/125/MUL [Sweden-SIDA] [SWE/05/IUU Port State Measures/IUU fishing]). Funding was also provided by the UK Department for International Development (DFID).

This publication commences by tracing the development of port State measures as a fisheries management tool through a review of a number of internationally important instruments. The structure, examination and analysis of the Agreement are then addressed. Policy, legal and operational checklists for the implementation of the Agreement are presented, followed by a review of capacity development and requirements of developing countries in relation to port State measures. Concerns and challenges to the implementation of the Agreement are highlighted prior to the conclusions.

The aim of the workshop was to develop national capacity and promote regional co-ordination to strengthen and harmonise port State measures and meet the requirements of relevant FAO plans of action to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Topics addressed include: the role of the port State in combating IUU fishing and promoting long-term sustainability in fisheries; the FAO Model Scheme; international developments; issues relating to port State measures at the regional level; regional issues and priorities of the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA).