MIMRA wins the “Stop IUU Fishing” Meritorious Award for their work in Majuro, the world’s largest transshipment port.
This week, in a ceremony during the 7th Global Fisheries Enforcement Training Workshop (7GFETW) organized by the International Fisheries Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Network (iMCSn) in Halifax, Canada, MIMRA’s Oceanic Fisheries team has been recognized for its world-class Port State Measures, designed to control transshipments in Majuro, the world’s busiest transshipment port.
The award not only recognized the excellence of the systems in place and the work of MIMRA’s oceanic division fisheries officers but also MIMRA’s outstanding level of transparency and mutually beneficial collaboration with technology providers.
The award recognized the long-term collaborations and the leading role that the RMI has with regional fisheries “Monitoring, Control and Surveillance” institutions such as the Pacific Islands Fisheries Forum Agency (FFA) and the iMCSn, where MIMRA’s Director MR Glen Joseph serves as vice chair. Further recognized efforts included bilateral level partnerships, such as with Thailand’s Department of Fisheries, and particularly with NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (NZ MFAT) that has supported the work of fisheries advisor working with the Oceanic Division operations since 2018.
During the award ceremony, the chair of the iMCSn, Mr Gary Orr, highlighted MIMRA’s contribution to the fight against IUU in the following manner:
- Leading national and regional anti-IUU activities through its world-class Port State Measures best practices.
- Supporting a rights-based management approach to the world’s largest tuna fishery.
- Ensuring robust, efficient, and effective collaboration amongst all other FFA and PNA member countries.
- Sustaining regional focus to promote uniform and transparent Monitoring Control and Surveillance (MCS).
- Using innovative and cutting-edge IT solutions, including electronic monitoring and reporting.
- Aggregating support from donors and the broader international community
- Ensuring the safety of the observers at sea.
- Committing to gender issues and the elimination of barriers to women
- Promoting regional solutions and effective collaboration with South-South Cooperation.
- Providing practical and effective training across a wide range of MCS functions with the support of regional partners.
- Establishing MoUs for compliance and catch data sharing with crucial processing countries.
- Unmatched levels of transparency and open information are available on their website https://www.rmimimra.com
- Establishing MoUs and collaborations with international technology and transparency partners and the iMCS Network.
MIMRA Director, Mr Glen Joseph, MIMRA Oceanic Division Chief Fisheries Officer Mr Beau Bigler, and MIMRA/NZMFAT Fisheries Advisor, Mr Francisco Blaha, received the award.
