Article

Navigating Change: Panama’s Acceleration Toward Fisheries Transparency

By Gabriel Caballero and Mónica Espinoza Miralles

Published August 26, 2024

As Panama's new government takes office, its strengthened commitment to ocean management is building a new wave of momentum

Political cycles are almost always accompanied by uncertainty. New leaders, new initiatives and new priorities forge a landscape of unknowns, leaving many to wonder what a new normal will look like.

Political turnover can also represent a challenge for nongovernmental organizations, potentially disrupting or reversing vital progress made towards key objectives. For Global Fishing Watch, this means that the achievement of sustainable ocean governance is called into question each and every election cycle as newly elected administrations take office. But new leadership can bring fresh opportunities and fresh perspective. And it can deliver an invigorated drive to achieve what previously had seemed impossible.

On July 1st, Panama welcomed a new government and the once uncertain future for the Latin American country’s work on fisheries transparency quickly began to take shape.

A history of fisheries management in Panama

In November 2012, Panama—one of the world’s largest open registries—received a yellow card from the European Union (EU) as a warning for inadequately monitoring its fishing fleets, neglecting to impose sanctions on illegal operators and lacking robust fisheries laws. The card was lifted in October 2014 after new legislation was put in place and improvements were made to the monitoring, control and inspection of fishing activities.

But just five years later, Panama was issued a second yellow card because of continued failure to control the activities of vessels flying its flag. The EU cited inefficient administrative procedures, lenient enforcement of infringements, and deficiencies in implementing the Port State Measures Agreement, an international treaty that aims to prevent illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing from entering national and international markets.

As a country that bridges two oceans, the second yellow card was a wake-up call. Panamanian authorities now knew they needed to make significant changes in their monitoring and control efforts. And corrective actions were quickly underway.

In March 2019, Panama took the bold step of publicly sharing vessel tracking data for its international fishing fleet on our map, aiming to improve control and surveillance of its flagged vessels and, in turn, bolstering sustainability efforts and cultivating economic benefits for its people. With that decision, about 350 fishing and cargo vessels became visible to the world, allowing for greater scrutiny—and accountability—of Panamanian-flagged vessels operating in distant waters.

And that was just the beginning. Over the next five years, Panama went on to make remarkable strides in strengthening monitoring and control efforts and eliminating opportunities for illegal fishing. It also became a strong voice in advocating for transparency—making information about the ocean, vessels, and related policies available to everyone it affects—and positioned it as a tool to combat IUU fishing.

At the 34th session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI), Panama was one of six States to declare the value of open data in fisheries monitoring, helping bring transparency and technological innovation into the committee’s final report.

This year, at the 36th session of COFI, Panama reaffirmed its commitment to international fisheries governance by insisting that IUU fishing be included on the meeting’s agenda. Despite its initial omission, Panama, alongside other proactive nations, successfully reintroduced the topic, underscoring its critical importance in the discourse of fisheries management.

Addressing the EU yellow card and implementing new regulations

Panama’s ongoing efforts to address the EU’s yellow card have catalyzed critical reforms in its fisheries processes and regulations. The introduction of the new fisheries law in 2021, with regulations published in November 2023, marked a critical milestone in its commitment to fisheries management. The challenge now lies in developing robust legal frameworks and specialized institutions to implement ecosystem-based policies and strategies grounded in scientific knowledge.

The new fishing law introduced major advancements in transparency, most notably around the sanctioning process. Starting in 2021, Panama mandated the entire practice —from initiation to final resolution—be publicly available on the Aquatic Resources Authority of Panama’s (ARAP) website, further strengthening accountability across its fleet.

Panama has also significantly improved public disclosure by publishing detailed vessel data on its website, which became available in 2019. Now, in addition to vessel tracking data, Panama includes details of its international licenses, such as fishing licenses, operational areas and fishing support vessels.

Five years of fruitful collaboration

Panama’s impressive journey has inevitably led to a fruitful partnership with Global Fishing Watch. Indeed, what began as an initial collaboration to share tracking data on our map has rapidly burgeoned into so much more. Since 2019, our work with ARAP has yielded 31 analytical reports, which have been instrumental in the administrative sanction processes. These reports have led to fines and detentions for vessels engaged in IUU fishing—one notable success being the takedown of the notorious MV Nika following a joint effort with Indonesia and Interpol to detain the vessel.

Global Fishing Watch remains steadfast in its support for Panama, providing advanced technology, data and capacity-building assistance to bolster transparency and regulatory compliance. Our renewed memorandum of understanding with ARAP, signed in April 2024, facilitates collaborative efforts to provide recommendations for new fishing regulations based on our expertise, initially focusing on management plans for the domestic trawler fleet.

But the work doesn’t stop there.

To address the EU’s concerns about authorization and proper monitoring and control of the transshipments, we are supporting ARAP through strategic partners like the IMCS Network by co-creating customized training programs and a transshipment manual to enhance operational capacities and improve oversight of the Panamanian fishing fleet. The new government’s willingness to collaborate has also given us additional opportunities to refine inspection and landing protocols.

Looking ahead to Panama’s promising future

Panama’s path forward is promising, bolstered by a new government that demonstrates both awareness and political will.

The new government is poised to improve compliance and advance a transformative agenda based on transparency in its fisheries sector. With continued dedication and collaborative efforts, and thanks to its readiness and welcoming embrace of innovative technology and open data, Panama is on the precipice of setting a new standard in fisheries management

After the initial uncertainty of political transition, a new normal has taken shape—and it’s one that we are excited to support.