On Sept. 11, Russian and U.S. negotiators signed a bilateral agreement to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The two governments have been working together for many years on efforts to address illegal fishing. The signing took place in conjunction with the 26th annual Intergovernmental Consultative Committee (ICC) meeting hosted by the United States in Portland, Oregon, where delegations from the two countries discussed ocean and fisheries issues of mutual concern.
The agreement, signed by DOS Ambassador David Balton and Deputy Head of the Federal Agency for Fisheries of Russia Vasily Sokolov (photo right), aims to improve coordination among the multiple government agencies in both countries that need to work together to address IUU fishing. In the United States, the agreement has the strong support of the fishing industry based in the Pacific Northwest/Alaska region, as well as the environmental community. This agreement also supports the recommendations of the Presidential Task Force on Combating IUU Fishing and Seafood Fraud
