U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, Committee on Fisheries

The FAO is a U.N. body that has as its objective to combat world hunger and poverty through sustainable management and use of natural resources. Within FAO, various agencies, including the Committee on Fisheries (COFI), work to ensure the long-term sustainability of the world’s fisheries.

COFI is the only global intergovernmental forum where international fisheries and aquaculture issues are examined and recommendations are made to policymakers, including governments and regional fisheries bodies. Every other year, COFI members review the status of the world’s fisheries and aquaculture, as well as FAO work on these topics. The committee also serves as a forum to negotiate global agreements and nonbinding instruments.

The FAO Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter, and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing is a legally binding agreement that requires parties to exert greater port controls on foreign-flagged vessels, and as a result to keep illegal, unreported, and unregulated, or IUU, fish out of the world's markets by removing the incentive for dishonest fishing operators to continue their illegal activities. But the PSMA will take effect only after 25 parties have ratified it. You can follow the progress here .