The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2020

Parties had also developed capacity-building 
initiatives and materials to support the 
implementation of their CMMs related to the PSMA.
Other FAO initiatives
Study on transshipment
Transshipment has become an intensely debated 
issue as one of the potential loopholes in global 
fisheries management. Transshipment is widely 
used in a number of fisheries to reduce operating 
costs and maximize fishing opportunities. 
Transshipment operations, particularly those 
occurring at sea, are difficult to monitor and 
control. Therefore transhipment can become an 
entry point for catches originating from IUU fishing 
activities into the market. The risk of transshipment 
contributing to IUU fishing is heightened in 
regions where fisheries governance is weak and the 
capacity to monitor and control is low.
In 2017, FAO initiated a global review of 
transshipment regulations, practices and control 
mechanisms. The study was presented in July 
2018 at the Thirty-third Session of COFI, where 
Members expressed concern about transshipment 
activities, and called for a further study to support 
the development of guidelines on best practices 
for regulating, monitoring and controlling 
transshipment. Throughout 2019, FAO therefore 
conducted a global study on transshipment, 
focusing on collecting more quantitative data 
and aiming to characterize the different types 
of practices, economic incentives, patterns, 
available means of monitoring and control, and 
areas covered by relevant regulations. Results of 
the study will be presented at the Thirty-fourth 
Session of COFI in July 2020.
Estimation of IUU fishing
Establishing a baseline level of IUU fishing is 
crucial to understanding the effectiveness of 
measures applied to combating the phenomenon. 
However, estimating the magnitude of IUU fishing 
is a complex matter that depends on many factors 
such as the type of fishery and the availability 
of information. FAO is working on a suite of 
documents to guide the methodology of future IUU 
fishing estimations – to ensure that any estimates
are comparable, regardless of who conducted them. 
The FAO Technical Guidelines for the Estimation 
of the Magnitude and Impact of IUU Fishing will 
be composed of six volumes, the first two of which 
have already been published, with the other four to 
be published in the coming years.
Marking of fishing gear
The implementation of the recently endorsed 
Voluntary Guidelines on the Marking of Fishing 
Gear (see the section Abandoned, lost or 
otherwise discarded fishing gear, p. 153) will 
facilitate the monitoring of fishing gear, tracking 
who is using it and for what purpose, thus 
contributing to the fight against IUU fishing.
Global momentum to combat IUU fishing
Global momentum and political will to address 
and end the devastating impacts of IUU fishing 
have been mounting in recent years, and there 
is no doubt that efforts are moving in the right 
direction to achieve SDG Targets 14.4 and 14.6, 
even if with some delay. 
International forums, associations and 
conferences are increasingly drawing attention 
to the need to address and tackle IUU fishing, as 
the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the G20 
and the Commonwealth of Nations have recently 
done through various mechanisms.
States and organizations active in the fight 
against IUU fishing are increasingly focused on 
cooperation and collaboration to approach the 
issue in a holistic and complementary manner. 
For example, in October 2019, the International 
Labour Organization (ILO) joined the Joint FAO/
IMO Ad Hoc Working Group on IUU Fishing and 
Related Matters as a full member. 
At a regional level, RFBs, RFMOs and other 
entities are also moving towards establishing 
regional cooperation mechanisms, such as 
regional plans of action (e.g. General Fisheries 
Commission for the Mediterranean, Western 
Central Atlantic Fishery Commission, Fisheries