The General Administrator of the Panamanian Resources Authority (ARAP) Flor Torrijos in the framework of the fourth meeting of States Parties to the Agreement on Port State Governing State Measures under the umbrella of FAO indicated that the implementation of the Port State Measures (AMERP) is a key element in the fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (INDNR).

In her speech at the meeting, the official said that in the last 3 years, Panama has invested more than 8 million dollars in training, hiring and training of a new team of fisheries analysts and inspectors to cover all authorized ports in the country 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with an index of inspections that give 100 percent coverage.

According to the official report, Torrijos highlighted that the country has a new Fisheries Control and Monitoring Center, which remains operational 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, which monitors in real time the capture and transhipment operations, committed to the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and most importantly with transparency in fisheries management.

He also assured that during 2022, Panama experienced a significant decrease in the arrival of fishing vessels at the country’s ports compared to 2021, due to the implementation of the measures, but he is aware that these vessels are using other ports that are not part of the AMERP agreement and even some are, but have poor implementation.

The Panamanian representative at the IV Meeting of the Parties to the FAO agreement on AMERPs stated that the exchange of information sometimes becomes a challenge, considering that certain States parties to the convention do not have their focal points updated on the FAO website.

He also indicated that the coordination of inspections in third States has also become a challenge, especially with regard to the unloading of refrigerated vessels, to the point that “we have removed more than 40 ports from our previous list of ports authorized for disembarkation or transshipment in order to ensure that the DGMARE green card is achieved by the end of 2023,” said the administrator.

The report detailed that with the implementation of AMERP, Panama has applied fines amounting to 3.2 million dollars. He took the opportunity to invite countries to make efforts not only to ratify, but also to implement the Measures of the Port State.

On May 9, it was agreed by all the members parties to move from a GIES pilot plan to the voluntary implementation by all the parties, starting from January 2024.