“Global Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing activities undermine the livelihoods of legitimate fish harvesters, both in Canada and abroad,” said Minister Shea. “I am proud that Canada has played a longstanding leadership role in the global fight against illegal fishing and was a key player in the negotiation and adoption of this Agreement.”
While Canada maintains well-regulated fisheries and has strong port access policies and practices in place, Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing is still prevalent in many parts of the world. The PSMA constitutes an international effort to strengthen fisheries governance around the world and to tackle the problem of IUU fishing by setting strong international minimum standards to prevent illegal fisheries products from entering markets through port access.
The signing of the PSMA supports Canada’s existing activities to improve global fisheries governance and combat IUU fishing, and complements a wide range of measures and authorities exercised by the federal government.
“IUU fishing is a global problem and we are committed to fighting it on a global scale,” said Minister Shea. “Canada is the world’s seventh largest exporter of fish and fish products, a sector that serves as an economic mainstay for approximately 1,500 rural and coastal communities across the country. We must continue to be at the forefront of this fight if we want to maintain a fair, stable and transparent market environment for our high quality fish and seafood exports.”
Further Reading
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