Guyana Ratifies Port State Measures Agreement
19 September 2016, http://www.thefishsite.com/fis...-measures-agreement/
GUYANA - Guyana has signed an agreement with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) that will allow the country to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in its territorial waters,
The Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA) includes technical assistance and a monitoring and evaluation process, and the US$500,000 project is expected to be completed within the next 18 months, reports the JamaicaObserver.
Guyana will now be able to integrate and co-ordinate fisheries-related port state measures with the broader system of port state controls.
“It is important to note that Guyana has a series of systemic closed fishing seasons where trawlers are prohibited,” said permanent secretary for the Ministry of Agriculture George Jervis.
“However, the fact is that it is quite common all over the world that persons do not abide by these rules and regulations. If we do not take control of this, it will get out of control. They may harvest the fish stock at a time Guyana’s industry does not consider it mature,” Mr Jervis said.
FAO Country Representative to Guyana Reuben Robertson said the organisation would be providing technical assistance to Guyana to assist in the fight against IUU fishing.
