In Global Fishing Watch's view, Panama's commitment is a powerful example of good ocean governance for other countries.
Photo: Global Fishing Watch.
The Government of Panama has taken advantage of its presence in the 'Our Ocean Conference', held this week in Busan, Republic of Korea, to announce new efforts in its fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, thus showing its commitment to a transparent and sustainable ocean future.
The announcement spotlighted the country's ambitions to establish clearer and more accessible vessel ownership records through improved data collection and digitization processes. This is, Panama is aiming at identifying 'invisible' owners.
Also present at the 'Our Ocean Conference', Global Fishing Watch CEO Tony Long applauded Panama's commitment to ultimate beneficial ownership. "In this manner, Panama is taking critical steps towards achieving ultimate beneficial ownership (UBO) transparency and ensuring increased accountability of its fleet and better ocean governance," the organization said in a release commenting on the announcement.
According to Global Fishing Watch, Panama has signalled that it is now working to strengthen due diligence by verifying vessel ownership and reviewing UBO information as part of license-granting procedures.
"By standardizing and automating these processes, and aligning with international best practices, Panama is ushering in a new era of accountability at a crucial time," the NGO stated, adding that Panama's commitment is not just good news for itself, but a powerful example of good ocean governance for other countries too.
Global Fishing Watch is an independent, international nonprofit organization whose purpose is to create and publicly share knowledge about human activity at sea to enable fair and sustainable use of the oceans. Using cutting-edge technology, they turn big data into actionable information that they then share.
Thus, in the NGO's view, the step forward taken by Panama in announcing its intention to identify the 'invisible' owners of fishing vessels crossing its territorial waters, "is especially important in the advancement of our sustainable ocean goals."
As Global Fishing Watch explained, ultimate beneficial ownership — the ability to identify the true individuals profiting from fishing operations — is a cornerstone of effective and transparent ocean governance. However, a lack of transparency in UBO is currently undermining global efforts to manage marine resources sustainably and equitably.
Without that access to UBO information, Flag States are frequently unable to effectively sanction the person or people that actually benefit from the breaking of fisheries laws, particularly when vessels operate through opaque corporate structures. This, the NGO continued, allows unscrupulous actors to evade accountability, threaten marine biodiversity, and negatively impact the livelihoods of those fishers who do follow the rules.
"Worse still, enforcement often targets vessel crew and operators rather than the true beneficiaries, perpetuating cycles of exploitation without addressing root causes," the international organization claimed in the release on Panama's announcement over IUU fishing.
In closing, Global Fishing Watch noted that, looking ahead to the upcoming United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) in June, Member States have an opportunity to follow Panama's example and lead a transparency revolution in ocean governance.
"By embedding UBO requirements into national legislation and international agreements, the global community can take a decisive step toward ending IUU fishing and ensure the fair, sustainable use of our ocean's resources," it concluded.
