In Conversation with
Gerardo Irimia
Government strengthens its fight against illegal fishing by requiring the disclosure of ultimate beneficial ownership data as a condition for issuing fishing licenses, with technical support from Global Fishing Watch.
At the 10th Our Ocean Conference held in Busan, South Korea, Panama announced a pioneering commitment to enhance transparency in the management of its fishing fleet: it will now require all internationally licensed vessels to disclose their ultimate beneficial owner (UBO) —the natural person who truly owns or controls the vessel—as part of its licensing process.
As a country with one of the world’s largest maritime registries, Panama aims to strengthen fisheries governance and ensure that vessels flying its flag comply with both national and international regulations. To do so, it is working in close partnership with Global Fishing Watch, which is providing technical support to Panama’s Aquatic Resources Authority (ARAP) so that it can digitize data, modernize information systems and improve information exchange.
A lack of transparency around ultimate beneficial owners – those who truly profit from a vessel’s operations – has been flagged as one of the main gaps in combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Making this information public enables states to identify a vessel’s true owners, strengthen port controls and prevent rogue actors from operating with impunity across jurisdictions.
We spoke with Gerardo Irimia, ARAP deputy administrator, to learn more about Panama’s motivation behind this commitment, how it is being implemented and the role technology will play in advancing greater fisheries transparency.
Why did Panama decide to move forward on transparency around ultimate beneficial ownership, and why is this topic important for the country?
Panama has one of the largest vessel registries in the world, and with that comes a great deal of responsibility. We want to remain a respected open registry, but also stand out as a country committed to sustainability and compliance with international standards.
While updating our fisheries legislation, we identified that one of the main weaknesses globally is the lack of information on who ultimately owns or controls fishing vessels. That’s why we decided to require the disclosure of this information for all vessels seeking an international fishing license. Our goal isn’t just to collect the data, but to use it internally and, in the near future, make it accessible to other countries. Our new regulations include the creation of a public fisheries register that will include UBO information.
We know there can be complex corporate ownership structures behind many vessels, but the first step is to start gathering and using this information. It will help strengthen cooperation between flag and port states, improve vessel oversight and, eventually, feed into regional and global databases such as those managed by regional fisheries management organizations and the FAO Global Record.
What legal and administrative gaps is Panama aiming to close through this new initiative?
Through our Interinstitutional Commission to prevent and eliminate IUU fishing, we recognized the need to gather more information on the beneficial owners of vessels flying our flag. Many of these vessels are owned by legal entities registered in other jurisdictions, which complicates oversight.
Under our new law, in addition to requiring a certificate of incorporation, we now request a declaration of ultimate beneficial ownership that includes contact details. This enables us to cross-reference information across databases and verify whether a given owner or company has any history of noncompliance or illegal activity.
Our goal is to build a cleaner, more transparent registry made up of responsible operators. We want to show the world that Panama is willing to take bold steps to combat IUU fishing, and we will continue raising our voice in international forums to support initiatives that move in this direction.
How is Panama implementing this commitment? What concrete steps are being taken?
We know a commitment of this scale requires major technical and administrative updates. That’s why, with the support of Global Fishing Watch, we are working to digitize all UBO data. This is our first step — making sure the information is systematically organized within ARAP’s internal databases. In the coming months, we will collaborate closely to improve the design of our data systems and digitize all existing records so that different departments — such as licensing, vessel registration and compliance — can access this information directly.
We are also updating our “No Objection” manual, which is the first assessment carried out before a vessel is approved to join our registry. This is where it becomes critical to know whether a beneficial owner already operates other vessels, or has a record of violations in Panama or elsewhere. This approach will help us make better decisions and prevent noncompliant operators from entering our registry.
What role will technology play in supporting Panama’s efforts to improve transparency and tackle IUU fishing through UBO disclosure?
We are at a moment when transparency is more important than ever—and it must go beyond simply publishing satellite positions. Countries need to embrace a broader opening of data. Panama has already taken key steps: we’ve made the vessel monitoring system (VMS) data of our international fleet publicly accessible through Global Fishing Watch, we’ve updated our legislation to make administrative sanctions public, and we publish fishing licenses for both domestic and international fleets.
But we’re going even further. The next step is to digitize UBO data. We’ve come to understand that it’s not enough to penalize a vessel or its captain — we also need to identify and hold accountable the individuals behind companies that break the rules. This information must also be public, so that other countries can access it and ensure that these operators cannot shift from one registry to another without consequences.
Tools like Global Fishing Watch have been invaluable. The platform not only shows vessel movements, but also provides ownership histories and UBO data. If more countries join us in publishing this kind of information on open-access platforms like Global Fishing Watch, we can close the loopholes that enable IUU fishing and strengthen fisheries management decisions for the benefit of marine resources and the communities that depend on them.
