This document contains the report of the FAO Regional Workshop on Port State Measures to Combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing, which was held at Cape Town, South Africa, from 28 to 31 January 2008. The objective of the Workshop was to develop national capacity and promote bilateral, sub-regional and/or regional coordination so that countries will be better placed to strengthen and harmonize port State measures and, as a result, implement the relevant International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IPOA-IUU) tools and the FAO Model Scheme and contribute to the development of a legally-binding instrument on port State measures. The Workshop addressed: background and framework for port State measures; global and regional issues relating to IUU fishing and port State measures, and the 2005 FAO Model Scheme on Port State Measures to Combat IUU Fishing; the 2007 draft Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing and the implementation of regional and national port State measures; adoption and implementation of port State measures by regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) and the implementation of measures in the Southern and East Africa subregion; operational and information requirements for effective port State measures; industry perspectives on port State measures and national responses to questionnaires; and key issues for further action and cooperation in strengthening and harmonizing port State measures. Working groups were formed to enhance the participatory nature of the Workshop and as a means of engendering broader and deeper discussion on concepts and issues relating to port State measures. In one exercise they addressed various aspects of port State measures, and recommended and prioritized areas for regional cooperation in implementing port State measures. They also identified further types of support needed to implement port State measures and in another exercise they considered certain thematic aspects relating to the FAO Model Scheme and the draft Agreement on port State measures. This exercise included legal aspects, information requirements, systems and inspection procedures, the results of inspection and training. Funding and support for the Workshop were provided by the FAO Regular Programme, by the Government of Norway through the Trust Fund for Port State Measures (MTF/GLO/206/MUL) and the FishCode Programme (MTF/GLO/125/MUL [Sweden-SIDA] [SWE/05/IUU Port State Measures/IUU fishing]). Funding was also provided by the UK Department for International Development (DFID).

FAO is supporting the implementation of the 2005 FAO Model Schemes on Port State Measures to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, including at regional level. The main objective of the workshop was to consider GFCM Member's coordinated efforts regarding the strengthening and the harmonization of port State measures in the near future and, as a result, build on the requirements of the general guidelines for a GFCM control and enforcement scheme.

The purpose of the Workshop was to assist countries in the Pacific Islands subregion to develop capacity to elaborate national plans of action to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (NPOAs-IUU). The Workshop addressed issues relating to: the 1995 FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, the 2001 International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IPOA-IUU) and FAO Fisheries Technical Guidelines No. 9 that have been developed to support the implementation of the IPOA-IUU; concepts of planning and the elaboration of action plans; decision-making about IUU fishing; and skills enhancement through the identification of key issues relating to the elaboration of NPOAs-IUU, the primary vehicle by which the IPOA- IUU will be implemented by countries.

The aim of the workshop was to develop national capacity and promote regional co-ordination to strengthen and harmonise port State measures and meet the requirements of relevant FAO plans of action to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Topics addressed include: the role of the port State in combating IUU fishing and promoting long-term sustainability in fisheries; the FAO Model Scheme; international developments; issues relating to port State measures at the regional level; regional issues and priorities of the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA).

This workshop was organised to assist countries in the southern and eastern Africa region to develop capacity in order to elaborate national plans of action to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (NPOAs-IUU). It also considered the International Plan of Action, its technical guideline and related issues. Working groups were formed to encourage maximum participation, and other topics discussed included ways of improving collaboration and identifying regional priorities.

This publication contains the report with selected papers, of the FAO regional workshop, held in Trinidad and Tobago in November 2004, to discuss assistance for Caribbean countries to help develop capacity to implement national plans of action to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (NPOAs-IUU). Issues discussed include: the 1995 FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, the 2001 International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IPOA-IUU) and technical guidelines to support implementation; and a case study for the development of a NPOA-IUU in a small island developing State