The Secretary General of Fisheries of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment (MAGRAMA) of Spain, Carlos Dominguez, announced in Rome that the Spanish government will contribute EUR 250,000 to create a Global Record of Fishing Vessels.
This record, promoted by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), aims to centralize data from fishing vessels, refrigerated transport and support vessels, and it will be carried out by obtaining minimum common data on all the fishing vessels.
Domínguez made the announcement during the celebration of the 31st Session of the Committee on Fisheries of the FAO in Rome, where he stressed it is “an essential tool in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, since it makes it possible to know which vessels operate legally and identify minimum requirements.
FAO has an annual budget for this project of around USD 500,000 so in the first year Spain will contribute with more than half of the budget.
Dominguez added that Spain will participate in the Project Advisory Committee “providing expertise in this field, in which the inspection services of the General Secretariat of Fisheries have been working since 2000.”
Besides, it encouraged other members of the Committee on Fisheries of the FAO to join the project to promote its release, informed the MAGRAMA.
The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) welcomed the commitment made by the Spanish Government, which demonstrates its leadership role to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
The NGO claims that this record will help countries to see if the ships should be considered high risk and should be granted flags, fishing licenses and access to the port.
And it also stresses that it will be useful to the members of the supply chain, many of which are taking steps to verify the identity and activities of the vessels that supply fisheries resources in order to be sure that they have not participated in IUU fishing related activities.
Steve Trent, executive director of EJF, congratulated the Spanish Government for the “massive boost” that it has given to the FAO project and hoped that other countries will follow suit.
“What might seem an obscure technical tool actually has huge practical use and will bring direct and significant benefits to the marine environment, legitimate fishing operators and coastal communities around the world. We will need a joint effort by all actors to ensure the Global Record fulfils its full potential and applaud Spain’s leadership in fostering such collaboration,” concluded Trent.
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