Port State Measures Agreement reaches critical threshold

The Port State Measures Agreement will go into effect on 5 June after it surpassed its minimum required number of signees, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization.

The signatures and ratification of the treaty’s rules were required by at least 25 countries in order for the law to take effect, and in the past month, Dominica, Guinea-Bissau, Sudan, Thailand, Tonga and Vanuatu all signed onto the agreement, pushing the total number of countries that have ratified the agreement to 30.

Originally adopted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 2009, the PSMA stipulates authorities at ports of entry for seafood conduct dockside inspections, block entry to vessels known to be involved in IUU and share information with other parties to the PSMA regarding vessels known or believed to contain IUU product.

Signatories to the agreement include Australia, Chile, the European Union, the United States, Russia, South Korea, Iceland and Norway.

“These 30 signers have taken a stand for the world’s oceans by ratifying the PSMA,” the World Wildlife Fund said in a statement. “However, the treaty is only as strong as its implementation, and participating nations must now act quickly and resolutely to ensure that enforcement is a priority moving forward.”