Building Capacity to Close Ports to Illegal Fishing Vessels and Their Support Vessels

Port-based compliance and enforcement measures for fishing and fishing support vessels are a relatively costeffective element of a Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) system, and as such they are attractive and effective. The main cost is related to the establishment and maintenance of an adequate, well-trained fisheries inspectorate with good levels of communication between national agencies, including customs and port authorities, and cooperation with regional and global bodies. This core capacity requirement, both in human and institutional terms, received considerable attention during the negotiation of the recently adopted United Nations Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (PSMA). Developing countries were especially concerned about the resources required to build this capacity. It is for this reason that the Pew Environment Group has been working to develop a simple and robust methodology that can determine the specific and real capacity-building needs for each country, as well as providing a platform for the development of a capacity-building plan which, when implemented, would enable ratification of and effective compliance with the PSMA.