The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Wednesday endorsed a set of voluntary guidelines that target illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU), which generates up to $23 billion each year. The Voluntary Guidelines for Flag State Performance, which were developed last year, aim to cut down on IUU fishing by improving the accountability of flag states – countries that register fishing vessels and authorize them to fly their flags. The FAO Committee on Fisheries endorsed the guidelines, as a "public signal" by countries of their intent to adhere to a shared set of standards for flag state performance, according to the U.N. agency. "Today's decision represents a massive breakthrough in combating IUU fishing, which not only puts marine ecosystems at risk but undermines any effort undertaken at the national, regional or international level to manage fisheries in a sustainable manner," FAO Assistant Director-General for Fisheries and Aquaculture Arni Mathiesen said. "Taken together with FAO's 2009 Agreement on Port State Measures, which works to prevent entry into ports by IUU fishing vessels and therefore block the flow of IUU-caught fish into national and international markets, these guidelines will provide a potent tool to combat IUU fishing in the coming decades," Mathiesen said.
