Global Fishing Watch welcomes landmark recognition of transparency in fight against illegal fishing

The global push for greater fisheries transparency reached a historic milestone today. 

At the 37th Session of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization’s Committee on Fisheries (COFI) held in Rome, Italy,  governments and fisheries authorities from around the world formally recognized the value of transparency and technology in combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Adopted by consensus, this marks the first time since COFI was established in 1965 that its members have collectively recognized the role of transparency in tackling IUU fishing. 

This is an important step toward Global Fishing Watch’s longstanding goal of making transparency the global standard in ocean governance. And it is a watershed moment in how the international fisheries community views transparency and technology as key to achieving a more sustainable ocean. 

Since Global Fishing Watch began engaging on transparency, we have seen governments increasingly embrace publicly available technologies such as the automatic identification system (AIS) and vessel monitoring system (VMS) as part of comprehensive monitoring, control and surveillance regimes. Flag, coastal, port and market States are using AIS alongside other sources of information to better manage fishing fleets, understand activity in their waters and assess vessels seeking access to their ports.

Our new Vessel Tracking Best Practices Guide, launched here at COFI, sets out how governments can bring transparency and technology together as part of integrated vessel tracking systems, connecting tracking, identity and other information to strengthen monitoring, analysis, compliance and enforcement.

Making vessel tracking information publicly available helps level the playing field, giving authorities around the world access to information that was once reserved for those with the most sophisticated and well-funded monitoring and enforcement programs. 

But recognition is not the end goal. It is an important milestone on the journey toward making transparency an integral part of how fisheries are governed worldwide. Our focus now turns to meaningful engagement across the U.N. system, as well as with regional fisheries bodies and their members to ensure today’s recognition translates into stronger standards, robust implementation and concrete transparency requirements. 

We are grateful to Brazil, Chile, Panama, the United Kingdom, Madagascar and Liberia, acting on behalf of the Africa Group, for their leadership and support, as well as the Coalition of Fisheries Transparency, Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea, Stop Illegal Fishing and TMT, whose continued advocacy helped make this milestone possible.

Transparency works. Governments are demonstrating its value. And with the consensus reached at COFI, the international fisheries community has taken an important step toward recognizing it, too.