Port State Measures

Port state measures are controls a port state applies to foreign fishing vessels and their support ships to keep illegally caught fish off the market, the leverage point furthest from the catch. They include advance request for port entry, denial of entry or port use, designated ports, dockside inspections, and information sharing on offending vessels. The FAO Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA), adopted by the FAO Conference in 2009 and in force from 5 June 2016, is the first binding international treaty targeting IUU fishing through such controls.