November 1, 2014 — Congress is poised to take direct aim at fish pirates by cutting them out of the seafood trade. The ultimate goal is to put a stop to the poaching of millions of tons of illegal, undocumented and unreported (IUU) fish and shellfish taken from global waters.
Led by the Alaska delegation, a Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA) is likely to be signed into law by year’s end. The agreement, part of the Pirate Fishing Elimination Act negotiated by the UN and Food and Agriculture Organization in 2009, would strengthen port inspections and toughen standards for foreign flagged vessels and international shipping. By stopping the fish from reaching the market, it will reduce the incentive for poaching.
“Essentially, the PSMA relies on the principle that all fish and shellfish must be landed at some port in order to enter into trade,” said Mark Gleason, executive director of Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers, a harvester trade group.
For decades, no Alaska fishery has been pinched harder by illegal catches than red king crab from the Bering Sea.
“We are the poster child of what happens to your markets when it is flooded with illegal product,” Gleason said.
Last year alone 100 million pounds of pirated crab from Russia found its way into US markets. (Studies estimate that more than 30% of total seafood imports to the US were caught outside the law).
Any country that ratifies the port agreement has four primary obligations, Gleason explained. They must designate which ports foreign flagged vessels can enter; they must restrict port entry and access to port services to any vessels that have engaged in IUU fishing or support activities, including transshipment; the nation needs to conduct dockside vessel inspections in their ports, and they must share information.