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).

Thirty-four experts on marine affairs and the law of the sea, from six continents, examine the emerging challenges for our World Ocean. The accumulating consequences of human activities on the seas indicate that the Earth may already have entered a new epoch, the Anthropocene, dominated by the human impact. This volume analyses developments in the interface of law, technology and science in some central law-of-the-sea issue areas. These are explored systematically in sections on the World Ocean in the Anthropocene epoch (Part I); combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (Part II); combating illegal oil spills from ships (Part III); marine genetic resources and bioprospecting (Part IV); and the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines (Part V).

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