Posts Tagged ‘COFI’

The Thirtieth Session of COFI concluded on Friday July 13^th. While the FAO’s official report of the meeting will contain the decisions of the Committee, the report will not contain all of the proposals and comments on IUU made by many of the more than 44 countries which spoke on the issue.
In addition to summarizing the main decisions which will be in the report, the International MCS Network would also like to share with you these other important comments for your information and possible consideration. No one else feeds the MCS community this specialized information in the same way.

Main decisions:
1. COFI, as a Committee, agreed that IUU was still a pressing problem and that all members should act to fight IUU by implementing the existing tools and instruments and, by cooperating more. The African Group added that capacity development was key for them and stressed their need to partner with international stakeholders.
2. Twenty-six members spoke of their progress on the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA) at the national level and urged others to do the same, so the Agreement could come into force soonest.
3. As part of the process of moving towards the Agreement becoming effective, the Committee recognized the importance of the information in Article 16 of the PSMA, i.e.,  designating national contact points and ports.
4. The work done on behalf of the ad hoc working group under Article 21 of the PSMA was approved but the working group will not come into existence until  the PSMA becomes effective. The Art.21 group is designed to focus on the creation of a special fund to assist developing countries with implementation of the PSMA.
5. The Committee spoke of the need for further action on the Criteria for Flag State Performance (much of what is in the draft text is MCS. The Criteria will be voluntary). This will be the third meeting on the Criteria ( it is being considered during a process known as a Technical Consultation.) The Committee urged FAO to hold the meeting before the end of 2012 but funds will be needed. The USA indicated they may be able to supply funds.
6.    A full 50% of the countries which spoke on the IUU topic expressed their support for the Global Record of Fishing Vessels, Refrigerated Transport Vessels and Supply Vessels. They recognized the need for a global unique vessel identification number for vessels rather than a regional number and noted the necessity of RFMOs coordinating their vessel records with the Global Record.  Capacity development, which is currently being provided by FAO to some regions, was appreciated as the work will also help them with their national and regional vessel registries.
7. Costa Rica announced it would host the Fourth Global Fisheries Enforcement Training Workshop in 2013 (where the winners of the Network’s Stop IUU Fishing Award will be announced). The Committee urged members of COFI to participate in the Network.
8. India wanted more IUU statistics on activities and losses associated with IUU. Mexico asked for FAO to compile stats on IUU. (You may be asked for how your country or region quantifies its rate of IUU and other related issues. As the calculation of IUU is not straightforward, you may want to think about this now.)
9. Not in the report but raised on the floor: Sierra Leone’s Fisheries Minister called for the creation of a new full-time high level UN post on IUU fishing.
10. The Russian Federation wanted FAO to create an IUU list.
11. Mozambique indicated its new procedure of requiring briefings in advance of fishing for foreign and domestic vessels.
12. Liberia described  its success due to cooperation from Mozambique on a recent investigation and it also called attention to its new website which makes vessel registration information public.
13. Norway advised on the UNODC study on Organized Crime in Fisheries.
14. The Islamic Republic of Iran proposed the creation of an ad hoc working group to develop guidelines for fishing vessels to advise on piracy as it impacts fisheries.   A number of countries commented how they were victims of piracy.
15. Ghana announced its four new patrol vessels.
16. Indonesia noted its regional plan of action for responsible fishing involving 11 countries in Southeast Asia.
Many countries talked about the ongoing needs for MCS capacity building; the need for cooperation at all levels; the impossibility of fighting IUU alone; development of NPOAs- IUU and VMS.
Heard in corridor conversation: Create a new sub-committee on IUU Fishing (currently these exist for Aquaculture and Trade).

The IUU session exceeded three hours so the Chair let only a limited number of other organizations speak on the topic although many wanted to do so.
As always, we want to give you the  most accurate and recent reports of the International MCS Community. If you have any questions or want further information about a topic we’ve written about, please email mcs.network@imcsnet.org

Dear Colleagues,

The Wednesday sessions at COFI included agenda item #9: Ocean Governance and Outcomes of Rio+20, and also agenda item #10b:Combating IUU Fishing. Interventions during both sessions pointed to the need for more data and capacity building around the world. See  below for more in-depth reporting.

In addition, the International MCS Network launched the Stop IUU Fishing Award at the Sheikh Zayed Media Centre in the FAO Atrium yesterday. The contest is open to all applicants from all sectors, and we welcome your submissions. You can learn more about the contest, including information about applying, at www.imcsnet.org/stopiuufishingaward
Point 9: Ocean governance and outcomes of Rio +20.
Delegates welcomed the outcomes of the Rio +20 conference in June 2012, which focused on the implementation and enforcement of existing international instruments and raised the profile of oceans and fisheries in the general debate.  The existing instruments refer not only to fisheries but also to other activities in the maritime domain. Against this background, some States raised the issue of the need for an integrated maritime policy to ensure proper ocean governance. States play a central role in the implementation and enforcement of international instruments, and also in areas beyond national jurisdiction through RFMOs and other international bodies.

Overlapping initiatives among these bodies should be avoided (fisheries conservation and management, CITES, biodiversity, etc.) To this end, States should cooperate and representatives of several states felt that FAO should play the leading role in fisheries and aquaculture initiatves and be active in work involving these issues.

Canada proposed to proceed to regular exchanges of view in the FAO. In close consultation with member States FAO should report on progress in the implementation and enforcement of international obligations in areas beyond national jurisdiction including a gap analysis. The focus should be on existing requirements and not on new additional rules.

RFMO’s were invited to share their views after the country interventions were complete. The representative of NEAFC referred to the existing cooperation between NEAFC and OSPAR. The internal commitments applicable to areas beyond national jurisdiction in the North East Atlantic are coordinated and implemented by both organisations in line with their conventions. He stated that this cooperation worked out well in practice.

Iceland advised delegations to include fisheries experts in all delegations such as CITES and biodiversity meetings, among others.

Other representatives underlined the importance of RFMO’s for implementation and enforcement of international requirements. RFMO’s play a central role in cooperation between States at a regional level. Some States pointed to the need for an independent external evaluation every 5 years for RFMOs and that evaluation reports should be publicly available.

The need to ensure sufficient capacity building activities was underlined by many delegations, as this is necessary to make it possible that all States and bodies apply and enforce the applicable international provisions.

Representatives of several States cautioned for overambitious and unrealistic goals that cannot be achieved. The goals set in Johannesburg should be achieved by 2015- just over two years from today.

Point 10 b: IUU

Under this point the USA drew attention to the International MCS Network and called on States to become part of the Network. It underlined the importance of the Network as an information and knowledge sharing platform. Costa Rica announced that it would host the fourth Global Fisheries Enforcement Training Workshop in 2013. It invited professionals in the MCS domain to participate in this event and called on States to send their experts to the Workshop.

Four states have ratified the Port State Measures Agreement, while 26 other states are finalizing  their processes. This instrument becomes effective when 25 ratifications have been deposited. Although the ratification processes take time, the trend is promising and supports the expectation that this instrument will become binding on the Parties.

Representatives of most States supported the finalization and adoption of the Criteria for Flag State Performance. There was also strong support voiced for the continued development of the Global Rcord of Fishing Vessels based on a global unique identifier. Representatives of several States called on tuna RFMOs to get in touch with FAO to streamline the overhaul of their vessel registers and to work out systems compatible and consistent with the Global Record of Fishing Vessels elaborated by FAO. Japan and Iceland emphasized that this project should be cost-effective and avoid duplication. FAO was encouraged to continue its program of capacity building to prepare countries for entering the Global Record while at the same time strengthening their national and regional vessel registries.

Many representatives identified international cooperation between States and capacity building as key issues critical for the success of the fight against IUU. States alone cannot win the fight against IUU that is organised often on a global scale. Russia stated that IUU may be linked to other crimes such infringements of labour conditions and maritime requirements. Information sharing between States and international bodies is very important in the field of IUU. Some States raised the question of the protection of confidentiality of data when exchanged between States and international bodies.
Representatives of several States in the Indian Ocean referred to the treat of piracy in the area, which competes for the means available to enforce international requirements.

That is the report for Wednesday from COFI. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to email us at mcs.network@imcsnet.org

Dear Colleagues,

Discussion continued today regarding the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. As proposed by the Chair, it was agreed to address with agenda items 6, 7, and 8 with the inclusion of an evening session. Agenda point 9 (Ocean governance and outcomes RIO +20) will be dealt with on Wednesday after finishing the above agenda points.

Point 6: Progress implementation of CCRF and related instruments.

Canada recalled the 1992 Rio declaration which paved the way for the adoption of both the Code of Conduct of Responsible Fishing (CCRF) and the Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of UNCLOS relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks. These acts introduced, amongst other things, the principle of sustainability to fisheries governance. The Rio declaration coincided with the ban on cod fishing on the Grand Banks, however 20 years after, Canada could not forecast when the stocks would recover.

At the occasion of the 20^th anniversary of the Rio declaration, FAO proceeded to an evaluation of the implementation of the CCRF. The CCRF, adopted in 1995, is a voluntary code containing the principles and standards on conservation, management and development of all fisheries and encompasses: capture, processing and trade of fish and fish products. Its implementation has been facilitated by the adoption of four international action plans (IPOA’s: Seabirds, Sharks, Capacity and IUU).

Last year, the FAO circulated a questionnaire to States and RFMO’s regarding their perspectives on the CCRF. Representatives of several States criticised the low return rate of the questionnaire and the review process. Many felt that the process should be redone.

A large majority of States support the CCRF in its current state whilst some expressed the wish to update the current text (terminology and adjustment to new instruments).

Senegal, South Africa, Mauritania and others drew the attention to Act 5 CCRF (support to developing countries) and urged FAO to do more to implement fully this article. Representatives of Bangladesh and South Africa welcomed the cooperation between FAO, ILO and IMO focusing on safety on board of fishing vessels and decent working and living conditions on board and expressed interest in the possibility of joint controls of labour, maritime and fisheries requirements.

One example of international cooperation that was detailed yesterday was an interaction between Liberia and Mozambique to combat IUU. Liberia referred to investigations of illegal fishing in its waters including the tracking of a suspected vessel along the African coast up to Mozambique. On the request of Liberia, Mozambique intervened by withdrawing the licence of the vessel but as Liberia did not supply the necessary details on the case within 72 hours, the vessel was released. However, Mozambique took measures avoiding a repetition. Liberia felt that the 72-hour limit was not realistic for developing countries.  Liberia concluded that the cooperative attitude by Mozambique was exemplary.

Representatives of several States underlined the importance of RFMO’s and felt that RFMO’s should take more initiative to participate in the CCRF survey.

The USA planned to convene workshops on making the most of fisheries dependent data (collection and use) as well as by-catches of marine mammals and possible measures to reduce by-catches; it called on experts from all over the world to participate to these workshops. The results will be made available to COFI.

Point 7: Decisions and recommendations of the 13^th session of the COFI-Sub-Committee on Fish Trade.

A clear majority of States endorsed the report of the above meeting and agreed with its recommendations (new evaluation framework as well as FAO input in the CITES process). It was commonly agreed that the primary objective of eco-labeling and traceability should be the fight against IUU fishing. Parties shared some diverging views on how to implement eco-labeling and traceability; to be based on gap/risk analysis whilst others expressed concerns on possible obstacles for access to markets.

Point 8: Decisions and Recommendations of the 6^th session of the COFI-Sub Committee on aquaculture.

The discussion under this point did not focus on MCS issues.

Wednesday we launch our Stop IUU Fishing Award in the new Sheikh Zayed Media Centre in the FAO Atrium. In addition the IUU session should begin Wednesday afternoon. We’ll bring you all the news from the day. Please email us with any questions you may have at mcs.network@imcsnet.org

 

July 9, 2012

Dear MCS Colleagues,

We are reporting from the first day of the 30^th session of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI) meeting held at the FAO in Rome, Italy. The opening session presented the 2012 State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture report (SOFIA), and continued with a discussion of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fishing. The discussion of IUU and MCS capacity had a central place in the remarks of the majority of speakers on the floor throughout the day.

SOFIA is the most influential global document describing developments in fisheries and aquaculture. In general the report highlights, amongst other topics, the ever-growing importance of aquaculture and the profession of seafood for human consumption on the world markets. Capture fisheries accounted for 77.4 million tones of global production, while aquaculture reported a new record of almost 60 million tones.  The report is based on statistics supplied by the member states of FAO.

According to the report, action is needed to promote sustainable fisheries. The proper application of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fishing should be evaluated in all fisheries and regions. Russia requested to include annually a section in the report on IUU fishing. Mozambique, Ghana, and Brazil called for continued FAO work on IUU fishing.

Coastal, flag, and port states have to apply many international obligations including in relation to fishing actives conducted by foreign vessels. States have to ensure the collection of reliable statistics on fishing activities and carrying out monitoring, control and surveillance activities ensuring compliance. The reality is that the means necessary to ensure compliance are not available in many places. Therefore Senegal, Mozambique, Angola, and Seychelles requested assistance in building MCS capacity. Representatives of several states in the Indian Ocean referred to the threat of piracy to fisheries.

Other noteworthy events include a call from both Sierra Leone and Seychelles for increased coastal and flag state responsibility for IUU and capacity for fisheries management.  Additionally, Mozambique supported by Chile, noting the importance of discussions among RFMOs.

In exciting news for the Network, OSPESCA has agreed to host the next Global Fisheries Enforcement Training Workshop in 2013. We hope to see many of you there, and look forward to working with OSPESCA on making a successful conference.

Tuesday the session on IUU fishing will be opened, and we’ll be taking careful notes of the conversation. We’ll be reporting to you after the session, please email us with any questions you may have at mcs.network@imcsnet.org