The 37th Session of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI37), the largest global gathering of policymakers and experts in fisheries and aquaculture, opened at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome, preceded by a celebration marking ten years since the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA) entered into force.

The PSMA, brokered by FAO, was the first binding international agreement aimed specifically at illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. It works by denying port entry and landing rights to vessels engaged in IUU activity, which makes it a comparatively cheap way of keeping illegally caught fish out of international markets. Parties undertake to verify a foreign vessel's compliance before letting it in.

The treaty now has 86 parties representing 110 FAO Members, and almost three quarters of coastal states are bound by it. Moldova submitted its instrument of accession on Monday. More than 22,000 PSMA inspections are carried out every year in almost 700 designated ports, and FAO has provided technical and capacity-building help to over 80 Members.

Recent growth in membership "reflects the growing recognition that effective action against IUU fishing requires cooperation across borders and regions," FAO Director-General QU Dongyu said. He pressed for full implementation of the 2023 "Bali strategy", the roadmap for bringing more countries into the agreement and speeding up the exchange of inspection data between them.

The week-long COFI37 meeting, running from 7 to 11 September, covers the state of world fisheries and aquaculture against a background of growing demand for aquatic foods and mounting pressure on aquatic ecosystems. On the agenda are IUU fishing, climate adaptation, support for small-scale fisheries and aquaculture, international oceans governance and CITES decisions on endangered aquatic species.

Qu noted that the sector has grown fivefold in six decades and pointed to the rapid expansion of aquaculture, including its potential outside Asia, asking the committee to recommend a path for aquaculture growth that is environmentally sustainable, socially responsible and economically viable.

Fisheries and aquaculture production reached a record 235 million tonnes in 2024, generated $184 billion in trade and supported more than 600 million livelihoods, according to The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture published by FAO in June. Side events at COFI37 cover value chains for aquatic foods, aquaculture innovation, the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, the BBNJ Agreement, and new work on data, traceability and control.

At a ceremony on the opening day the Director-General awarded the Margarita Lizárraga Medal to the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency, which serves 17 members from its headquarters in the Solomon Islands.

Source: FAO Newsroom