Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing not only is a major contributor to overfishing but also has far-reaching, negative economic and social impacts. In recent years, several tools have been developed to fight IUU fishing, including the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA).
This treaty aims to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing by reducing the risk of illegally caught fish entering port. The PSMA entered into force in 2016 and now has more than 100 member States, all of which are legally bound to strengthen port controls for foreign-flagged vessels offloading catch. This agreement, coupled with better law enforcement and inspections, is helping keep IUU fish out of the marketplace. But a challenge remains: Some governments that haven’t ratified or acceded to the treaty are reluctant to do so because of concerns that implementation may slow port activity and result in a loss of revenue.
But that concern appears to be unfounded. In 2022, The Pew Charitable Trusts commissioned a study, led by MRAG Asia Pacific, of six ports in five countries: Thailand, Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), Peru, Uruguay and Namibia. That mix includes developed and developing countries whose ports land a wide variety of catch. All except RMI are active parties to the PSMA, and RMI has voluntarily implemented port controls in line with the treaty.
The researchers used vessels’ automatic identification system (AIS) data and other sources of information, such as port entry records, to track port visits and usage and transshipments of fish at sea and in port. Regional experts then reviewed the data to learn if port State measures implementation had led to any changes – positive or negative – in port activity.
The study’s key takeaway? In four of the six ports, PSMA implementation caused no discernible changes to foreign vessel movements. Also, the study found that the commercial benefits of established processing plants, fishing grounds and vessel services near these ports outweighs any risk of vessels moving to more lax ports. The study also found that overall vessel time in port, in almost all cases, remained the same before and after adopting more stringent port controls.
For example, Thailand began tightening its port controls in 2016, due in part to pressure from the European Union to combat IUU fishing more aggressively. Despite the increased time and costs of conducting risk assessment and inspections, vessel visits remained relatively stable from 2014 to 2019. Thailand is a well-established processing hub for the global tuna market, and the study indicates that the country was able to sustain that prominent role after establishment of robust port State measures. These findings should reassure other governments that have been reticent to join the PSMA that they too can improve port controls and continue to meet business needs.
RMI, a non-Party to the PSMA, began improving its port controls in line with the PSMA in 2017, through the implementation of the framework devised by the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency. Although vessel visits declined after their implementation – dropping 11% from 2017 to 2018, for example – experts in RMI associated the drop with a combination of other factors, such as changes in fishing patterns and port services required by certain vessels, which determined which Pacific ports they could visit.
At the same time, the study authors uncovered a concerning finding in their assessment of port activity: Authorities in the various ports are not applying the PSMA provisions in the same way, making it difficult to associate specific measures with a direct impact on vessel movements. For example, some ports use different data than others to inform risk assessments or different mechanisms to share intelligence domestically and internationally.
First, States considering whether to ratify or accede to the PSMA should feel confident that doing so will not hurt port activity or revenue, both of which appear to be driven by factors unrelated to port controls.
To help ensure stronger and more consistent port controls around the world, Pew recommends that:
The PSMA is proving to be a valuable tool in the global fight to end IUU fishing but there is room for improvement in how States implement it. This study shows that, in the medium term, States face very little downside to having robust port controls in place, as required by this vital treaty.
Elaine Young works on The Pew Charitable Trusts’ international fisheries project.