Press Release: Commissioner Borg: ‘International agreement on Port State control standards is a major blow to pirate fishing’

The European Commission welcomed the successful conclusion on 28 August, 2009, at the Rome headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of negotiations to establish an international agreement on port state measures as part of the global fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing. The measures agreed by delegates from the FAO Member States set minimum standards for the anti-IUU measures to be taken by Port States, and are a major contribution to the ongoing global fight against illegal fishing activities. Today's agreement was also significant as it was the first major international instrument on fisheries management to be established since the adoption of the UN Fish Stocks Agreement in 1996.