Basseterre, St. Kitts, Jul 09 2015 – Agriculture Minister Eugene Hamilton has signed instruments of accession to two important international fisheries agreements, reinforcing the commitment of St Kitts and Nevis to meet or exceed international standards for the long-term conservation and sustainable use of living marine resources and marine ecosystems.
This will fortify global actions to reduce illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities (IUU fishing) and the marketing of illegally caught catch.
St. Kitts and Nevis is now party to the 1995 United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement (UNFSA), focusing on high seas fishing for straddling and highly migratory fish stocks, and the 2009 Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA) on combating IUU fishing through harmonised measures in port.
Minister Hamilton said that “the country will step up its efforts to make fisheries more sustainable, protect the stocks and generate a food supply and long-term revenues”.
The Agreements provide a framework for strengthened control of the Saint Kitts and Nevis flagged offshore fishing fleet, which caught more than 150 000 tonnes of fish last year off the coast of West Africa and transported hundreds of thousands of tonnes of fish and fish products in the North Eastern Atlantic. The fleet consists of huge vessels that help to provide food for millions of people world-wide and generate significant revenues for the country.
By becoming party to the Port State Measures Agreement, Saint Kitts and Nevis plays a frontrunner role in the Caribbean, being the first country in the region to install port inspection measures of international best-practice standards.
Minister Hamilton also announced that the new Government is working together with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) to develop a new Fisheries, Aquaculture and Marine Resources Bill and related Regulations. They will replace existing outdated legislation and implement the requirements of the Agreements.
St Kitts and Nevis has recently been negatively in the news because of IUU fishing and transhipments by some of its offshore flag vessels.
The European Union notified the Government that it may close its markets to fish from the country and gave it a “yellow card”, and unless measures to combat IUU fishing are put in place a ban on exports of fish to the EU may follow.
