Benin is the latest country to become party to the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA), the first binding international agreement to specifically target illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Benin was the first FCWC Member State to become a signatory to the agreement in September 2010, and in June 2019 presented its instruments of adherence to the agreement, making it the fourth FCWC country to do so.
Benin joins Liberia (May 2019), Ghana (November 2016) and Togo (December 2016) as the fourth FCWC Member State to become party to the PSMA.
Secretary-General of the FCWC, Seraphin Dedi said, “We are delighted with the news that Benin is now part to the PSMA. With over half of our Member States now party to the agreement the capability of our region to effectively fight and block illegal operators from our region is greatly increased. We look forward to assisting Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire in their processes so that together as a region, we can remove illegally caught fish from the West Africa value chain. “
The PSMA prevents, deters and eliminates IUU fishing by preventing vessels engaged in IUU fishing from using ports and landing their catches. It reduces the incentive of such vessels to continue to operate while it also blocks fishery products derived from illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing from reaching national and international markets.
