UN capture?: World's worst IUU fishing offender China joins FAO agreement to deter the practice

China, the world’s largest capture fisheries producer, has become the 108th state to join the globalist UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (PSMA).

In theory, the PSMA supports sustainable fisheries by ensuring that only legal, regulated and reported fish catches are landed in ports and eventually traded.

It does this by enabling parties to deny port entry or use of port to foreign vessels suspected of engaging in IUU fishing, thereby preventing catches from such illicit practices from reaching markets and consumers.

“China’s accession to the PSMA is a milestone in the global effort towards responsible governance and sustainable development of fisheries,” said Qu Dongyu, the Director-General of the FAO.

“This step reflects the growing strong commitment of all the states that preceded and those who will follow China in joining hands to combat IUU fishing through the PSMA framework.”

The irony of all this is, of course, that China is notorious for being the world's worst offender when it comes to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and the brazen move only provides more evidence of China's hold on the United Nations and its various agencies.

According to the FAO, China is the world’s top producer of aquatic animals in marine capture fisheries accounting for around 15 per cent of the global total in 2023. China’s fishing fleet is estimated to number more than 500,000 fishing vessels, 342 000 of which are motorised.

The PSMA’s implementation is backed by complementary instruments, such as the Global Record of Fishing Vessels and the PSMA Global Information Exchange System (GIES), which help port state authorities verify vessel identities and share compliance information with port, flag and coastal states and other concerned entities.

"These technologies enable real-time, cross-border collaboration, ensuring that vessels engaging in IUU fishing can be tracked, enhancing global enforcement efforts to conserve marine ecosystems and ensure sustainable fisheries," said the FAO.+