Protecting Fishers During a Global Pandemic

01 April, 2021

Notable Progress Towards the Ratification of the IMO’s Cape Town Agreement During 2020

During the first quarter of 2021, Board Member and Convenor of PGA’s Oceans Campaign Hon. Petra Bayr, MP (Austria), circulated 1-pagers on how to best protect fishers during the COVID-19 global pandemic with countries that made notable progress towards the ratification of the IMO’s Cape Town Agreement during 2020.

Hon. Bayr included a message to her fellow PGA member-parliamentarians, which reads:

On behalf of PGA's Campaign on the Protection of the Oceans and Implementation of SDG 14, please allow me to extend my heartfelt wishes for a joyous New Year.

2020 has created challenges for many industries, including the commercial fishing industry. To provide clarity into the effects of COVID-19 on illegal fishing, the utility of the IMO's Cape Town Agreement (CTA), and relevant actions taken by fellow parliamentarians in 2020, kindly refer to the brief 1-pager below.

I encourage you, honorable colleague, to refer to the final section of the 1-pager below on actions that can be taken to protect these vulnerable, yet extremely vital fisheries workers. With existing risks and abuses compounded by the current pandemic, the entry into force of the CTA is more urgent than ever.