Mexico reaffirms its commitment to the Americas for the Protection of the Ocean Coalition

Mexico reaffirms its commitment to the Americas for the Protection of the Ocean Coalition

• Four members of the Coalition are also on the Ocean Panel.
• The coalition's main objective is to create a space for collaboration, cooperation and coordination to address the threats to the ocean.
• Undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights Martha Delgado said that Mexico is working to advance the agenda to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

At the 29th meeting of Ocean Panel Sherpas, which is being held from February 7-8 in Vancouver, Canada during the 5th International Marine Protected Areas Congress, Mexico reaffirmed its commitment to continue promoting the agenda of the Americas for the Protection of the Ocean Coalition, which is made up of Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and the United States.

In her remarks, Martha Delgado, Undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights at the Foreign Ministry and Mexico's sherpa to the Ocean Panel, said that a regional dialogue should be held in the first half of this year to promote the work of the Coalition.

In addition, she highlighted the work done to promote the UN FAO Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter, and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported,and Unregulated Fishing, saying that Mexico is taking steps to ratify the agreement, which is currently being studied by the Mexican Senate.

On the first day of the 29th meeting of Sherpas, Mexico presented its five priority issues for 2023: 1) An updated National Policy on Seas and Coasts; 2) Ocean governance, knowledge and accounting; 3) Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing; 4) Other effective area-based conservation measures (OECM) to meet the international commitments of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework; and 5) Negotiation of an international legally binding instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ).

The meeting included thematic presentations by external experts, a preliminary discussion on the need to mobilize global action for financing a sustainable ocean economy in 2023 and on maximizing the Panel's impact at multilateral events such as the G20 summits, the UN Ocean Conference, the UN Water Conference, COP28 and the UN General Assembly. Undersecretary Delgado said that "the ocean agenda is of the highest priority for Mexico and we will actively support our commitments in 2023."