Peru's Ambassador to Norway, Gustavo Laurie Escandón, together with Norway's Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Policy, Marianne Sivertsen Næss, during the presentation of the declaration signature.
Photo: NFD / Blue Justice.
As WeAreAquaculture reported earlier this week, June was a key month for Peru's commitment to sustainable, legal, and responsible fishing, but the South American country went further, extending that commitment to join Norway's fight against fishing crimes.
Ending the month, Norway's Ministry of Fisheries and Oceans announced Peru has signed the Copenhagen Declaration, which, as the Ministry itself explains in its release, is the first step toward joining Norway's Blue Justice initiative.
Previously signed by Peru's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Elmer Schialer Salcedo, the Declaration was formally handed over to the custodian of the Copenhagen Declaration, Norwegian Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Policy Marianne Sivertsen Næss, on Friday, June 27, 2025, by Peru's Ambassador to Norway, Gustavo Laurie Escandón.
"Peru has a large fishing industry and is an important player in international cooperation for healthy and sustainable oceans. I'm pleased that Peru is now becoming part of the initiative," Minister Sivertsen Næss said, commenting on Peru's accession.
"Fisheries crime undermines resource bases, impacts coastal communities, and weakens the fishing industry. That's why it's so important that we stand together and share both knowledge and technology. The Blue Justice tracking center in Vardø plays a key role in this effort," the Norwegian Minister for Fisheries and Oceans added.
As an influential voice on ocean and fisheries-related issues, back in 2018 and together with eight other countries, Norway made a policy statement to tackle transnational organized crime in the global fishing industry.
As Blue Justice explained, the Copenhagen Declaration highlights the serious economic, environmental, and human rights consequences caused by crimes throughout the fisheries supply and value chain, such as corruption, tax fraud, money laundering, document fraud, and human trafficking.
Likewise, it also calls for strengthened cooperation among government agencies at the national, regional, and international levels, with special attention to the vulnerabilities of developing countries.
The initiative also includes a range of aid-oriented activities as well as a common digital service for those countries that partner with the declaration through the Norwegian Blue Justice Initiative, which supports them in implementing and addressing the Declaration's commitments.
The final goal of it all is to strengthen international cooperation against fisheries crime. Now, with Peru on board, 61 countries are supporting the initiative. Before Peru, the last countries to adhere to the Copenhagen Declaration had done so in 2023, during the first ministerial conference on fisheries crime held in the Danish capital.
A moment of the meeting between the Mauritian and Norwegian delegations, led by President Googol (first left) and Minister Sivertsen Næss (first right), respectively.
Photo: Blue Justice.
In addition, equally as the custodian of the Copenhagen Declaration, just one day before the meeting with Peru's Ambassador, Marianne Sivertsen Næss had also met with the President of Mauritius, Dharambeer Gokhool.
During the session, they discussed how the country can use the tools of the Blue Justice initiative and further contribute to cooperation, and the President expressed strong interest in Blue Justice.
Googol, who received a detailed presentation on the Blue Justice initiative from the Blue Justice Secretariat and UNDP's Blue Resilience project, stressed the importance of continued close cooperation in this critical area.
Having signed the Copenhagen Declaration in 2022, Mauritius is a key partner in the initiative, which, as mentioned above, emphasizes national inter-agency coordination as well as regional and international cooperation to prevent and combat fisheries crime.
