To Improve Global Fisheries Oversight, Governments Should Agree on International Transshipment Guidelines

Beginning 30 May, representatives from around the world will meet in Rome for five days to review—and adopt—the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) draft voluntary guidelines on transshipment. Transshipment, or the transfer of fish from one vessel to another, plays an important role in the global fishing industry; although it’s legal, if it’s not managed effectively it can lead to illegally caught fish entering the supply chain. Regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) and other regional bodies currently manage transshipment, but no global guidelines exist to help fisheries managers monitor and control the practice.

That could change if countries agree to adopt a global framework of rules to help flag, coastal and port States, and RFMOs, better manage transshipment and improve key aspects of its oversight. The 30 May to 3 June FAO meeting is what’s known as a technical consultation—part of the formal process that will result in the guidelines being presented to the FAO’s Committee on Fisheries at its September meeting. There, the committee should swiftly endorse the guidelines if delegates to the 30 May-3 June session adopt the robust, comprehensive text.

The new guidelines would make tracking and sharing data easier, supporting cooperative efforts to make transshipment more transparent. As highlighted in The Pew Charitable Trusts’ best practices, the new guidelines should emphasize the following:

• Transshipment authorization procedures: Vessel flag States should provide relevant authorities with verification of authorization, which are documents that show that the vessels on both sides of the transshipment interaction—the fishing vessels that are offloading the fish as well as the carrier vessels that are onboarding the fish—are allowed to transship. Such verification should be limited to fishing and carrier vessels flagged to members of the RFMOs where the transshipment is taking place.
• Pre-transshipment notification: Vessels should be required to notify relevant authorities in advance of intent, location and time of transshipments. Before granting authorization for transshipment, the flag States must confirm that the vessels are in compliance with monitoring system reporting and other requirements that help track and report what is caught by a vessel, such as electronic monitoring or observer coverage.
• Post-transshipment reports: Observers should submit key transshipment details, such as the species and quantities of fish, to all relevant authorities.
• Information sharing: RFMOs should adopt minimum standards for transshipment and landing declarations in order to enable consistent information sharing and data verification across RFMOs and flag, port and coastal States.

The guidelines are designed to establish a global framework for oversight of transshipment while better aligning regulations at the State and regional levels. Additionally, the FAO will give special consideration to developing States that may require assistance in implementing these guidelines.

Governments should adopt guidelines at upcoming consultation

The 30 May to 3 June technical consultation features a broad and inclusive negotiation process that is designed to give all countries a chance to ensure that the guidelines align with their States’ specific requirements and their regions’ operational particularities.

With its multiple consultations and chances for input, the formal adoption process offers the global fisheries community an opportunity to take a large step towards improving the overall transparency and stability of the fisheries they manage, with transshipment guidelines designed to help safeguard the many species on which fishers and communities depend. Adoption of these guidelines will be a major step for global cooperation in protecting the world’s shared marine resources.

Alyson Kauffman is a senior associate and Esther Wozniak is a principal associate with The Pew Charitable Trusts’ international fisheries project.