Sixty countries have joined together at the first ministerial conference on fisheries crime in Copenhagen. The cooperation agreement against fisheries crime known as the Copenhagen Declaration that started in 2018 with just nine countries now has multiplied the number.
The Declaration already has a total of 60 countries, representing more than 1/3 of the world's coastal states. Gradually, countries are joining in the Copenhagen Declaration and its conference which aims to enhance global cooperation and greater use of digital tools against fisheries crime. It covers illegal fishing, economic crime, and human trafficking.
Norway was in charge of organizing this year's conference in Copenhagen, together with the United Nations Development Program. There, nine coastal and island states signed the Declaration: Mauritania, Dominica, Barbados, Madagascar, Côte d'Ivoire, Somalia, Angola, Tuvalu, and Guinea. Moreover, Liberia formalized its pre-accession during the conference.
Thus, Norway was highlighted not only for its organizational role but also for their work. Norway is currently working to be able to offer data directly from Norwegian satellites to participant countries through this initiative. In addition, the importance of the international vessel monitoring center in Vardø, which shares analysis was also pointed out.
Besides, it was announced the creation of the "blue justice center" in the Caribbean. This will be a center located in Jamaica to help enhance regional cooperation among the 14 countries in the region involved in the initiative.