Papua New Guinea has taken a momentous step in its commitment to the global fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing through its recent accession to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA).
Papua New Guinea submitted its instrument to Accession on the 7th March 2024 through the Embassy in Brussels to the FAO as depository. It became the 78th States Pary to the Agreement upon the entry into force of the agreement for Papua New Guinea on 6th April 2024, thirty (30) days after the submission of the instrument.
The PSMA is an international agreement formulated primarily for the prevention, deterrence and elimination of IUU fishing. It closes ports from IUU vessels and prevents all catches from IUU fishing from entering the international market.
As a state party, Papua New Guinea is empowered as a Port State to impose specific measures and to carry out inspection of equipment, documentation, catches and the ships’ log within the provisions of the Agreement on foreign flagged fishing vessels seeking entry into our designated ports.
This is to ensure that all catches landing or processed in PNG are legally caught and there is full compliance with conservation regimes and sustainable fishing practices. It accords PNG the full right to refuse entry into its ports for any fishing vessel that is suspected or is involved in IUU fishing.