LUANDA, Nov 9 (NNN-LUSA) — Angola has signed the United Nations treaty on legal and sustainable fishing, as part of the agreement on port state measures to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
According to a press release from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), sent to Lusa, Angola is part of the group of new members of the agreement along with Eritrea, Morocco and Nigeria.
The FAO said that the member nations prevent the entry of foreign ships that carry out or support illegal activities in their ports.
The accession of the four African countries “brought to 60% the total number of port countries committed to the agreement, an instrument of compulsory compliance, in favour of more sustainable fishing.
For FAO director-general Qu Dongyu, quoted in the statement, increased consumer demand and the transformation of agri-food systems in fisheries and aquaculture have led global fish production to the highest levels seen today.
“There is now wide recognition that the fight against harmful fishing needs to be intensified,” he stressed.
The FAO official also considered “encouraging” the support of countries in support of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) “at a time when about one-fifth of fish caught worldwide each year originates from illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.”
The director of FAO’s Fisheries and Aquaculture Division, Manuel Barrange, stressed that national, regional and global efforts to achieve sustainable fisheries “are also affected”, arguing that the “elimination of all types of illegal activity is key” to achieving the SDGs.
“The recommendation is to tighten port control and encourage an exchange of information through the implementation of the agreement on port state measures,” the document further states.
About 100 States are so far committed to the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA). — NNN-LUSA
