IUU fishing is a practice that has grown alarmingly in the Western Hemisphere. It significantly affects various sectors, threatening the sustainability of the region's fishing resources and the food security and economy of coastal countries, especially those that depend on fishing as a source of livelihood and income. Furthermore, this illegal activity is often associated with crimes such as drug trafficking, arms trafficking, human trafficking and the financing of criminal activities that contribute to regional instability and insecurity, all of which is becoming a significant challenge and relevant to maritime safety.
The lack of regulation and adequate inspections facilitates and sometimes even encourages illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing activity. Therefore, it is more difficult to identify and punish violators. In general, this scenario requires joint and coordinated efforts in the affected countries, the improvement of inspection mechanisms and investments in monitoring, control and response technologies.
This Workshop is an example of an important multilateral initiative to understand this common challenge and the resulting and related needs, as well as to discuss the possibilities for effective action, with the aim of contributing to ensuring the sustainability of marine resources and hemispheric security. . The establishment and formation of protocols for the joint and coordinated efforts of the navies and coast guards of the region are extremely important to combat IUU fishing.
Cooperation and coordination between naval forces is essential to ensure that efforts are increasingly effective. I also highlight the importance of collaborative action of
governmental and non-governmental organizations, national and international, in the development and implementation of policies to combat, control and monitor the waters under the jurisdiction of each coastal State, thus allowing marine resources to be used in a sustainable and fair manner, avoiding exploitation excessive and harmful to the environment and contributing to the stability of the region.
The fight against IUU fishing is an urgent and far-reaching issue that requires coordinated and structured actions. In this sense, this Workshop is key to promoting high-level dialogue and the exchange of knowledge and best practices on common challenges in the Americas.
The use of advanced technologies is essential to monitor and supervise fishing activities, especially in remote and difficult-to-access waters.
This is the second Workshop held within the framework of the Maritime Security Program of the Inter-American Defense Board. This program is called Safe Seas. With this initiative, we can strengthen hemispheric cooperation and security in the maritime field, providing and disseminating valuable information and experiences for the inter-American system, especially for its member states. We thank the speakers for making their valuable time and experiences available to the almost 2,700 registered participants, from 36 countries on different continents.
The Inter-American Defense Board (IADB) is an institution of the Organization of American States (OAS) that promotes cooperation in security and defense among the countries of the Americas, facilitating dialogue and collaboration on military and civil issues.
