Andrew Richards

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• Andrew Richards
• Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission
• First Meeting of Ministers Responsible for
  Fisheries
• 2-5 June 2009
• Brussels, Belgium

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Total catch 2,396,815mt Landed value USD 3
billion
Catch of albacore, bigeye, skipjack and yellowfin
tunas in the WCPO by gear type
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Total catch 2,396,815mt
Catch of albacore, bigeye, skipjack and yellowfin
tunas in the WCPO by species
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• Prior to the mid 1970s all tunas were taken by
  DWFNs (Japan, Korea, Chinese Taipei, and the US).
• Mid 1970s With the establishment of EEZs,
  Pacific Island States negotiated fisheries
  arrangements with DWFNs.
• Pacific Island States have limited capacity to
  administer those arrangements in relation to
  science and MCS activities.
• Called on two regional institutions SPC and FFA.

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• Members 14 independent Pacific Island States
  (all ACP members), Australia, France, New
  Zealand, the USA and associated territories in
  the Pacific region.
• Established in 1947 Noumea, New Caledonia.
• To deliver priority work programmes on natural
  and social resources, education, public health,
  etc. to Pacific Island people.
• Regional fisheries advisory service Oceanic
  Fisheries Programme (http//www.spc.int/oceanfish)
  .
• SPC-OFP is WCPFCs science service provider and
  data manager.

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• Members 14 independent Pacific Island States
  (all ACP members), Australia, New Zealand and
  Tokelau.
• Established in 1979 Honiara, Solomon Islands.
• Consists of the Forum Fisheries Committee (a
  policy making body) and the FFA Secretariat
  (www.ffa.int).
• To enable Members to manage, conserve and use the
  tuna resources through enhancing national
  capacity and strengthening regional solidarity.
• FFA has become internationally renowned for
  supporting regional cooperation and solidarity on
  fisheries matters from multilateral fisheries
  agreements to international negotiations.

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• Nauru Agreement a subregional agreement on terms
  and conditions for tuna purse seine fishing
  licenses in the region, adopted at Nauru in 1982.
• PNA EEZs consisted of almost 75 of tuna fishing
  operations in early 1980s rich fishing grounds
• Three subsidiary arrangements implementing the
  Nauru Agreement (1982, 1990, and 2008)
• The Palau Arrangement (1992) and
• The FSM Arrangement (1994).

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• The Regional Register of foreign fishing vessels
  adopted by FFA and become operational in 1988.
• Applied the concept of good standing to be
  eligible for licensing
• Harmonized minimum terms and conditions of access
  for foreign fishing vessels.
• Includes vessel identification, catch and
  position reporting, transhipment reporting, daily
  catch and effort reporting, the deployment of
  observers, appointment of local representatives
  or agents, and requirements for foreign fishing
  vessels in transit.

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• Prohibition of transhipment at sea.
• High seas catch reporting and maintenance of log
  books.
• Recording catch and effort on a daily basis.
• Placement of observers upon request by a
  licensing Party.
• Request for an electronic position and data
  transfer device to be installed on the vessel.

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• Catch retention of bigeye, skipjack and yellowfin
  tuna.
• No deployment of fish aggregating devices (FADs)
  during the third quarter of each year.
• Closure of fishing in the two high seas pockets
  as a condition of a bilateral licence.
• 100 observer coverage for foreign purse seine
  vessels and operation of a satellite-based vessel
  monitoring system (VMS).

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• Set a limit on the number of purse seine vessels
  (205) that could be licensed to the traditional
  DWFN partners.
• Review of the Palau Arrangement in early 2000s
  led to the adoption of the Vessel Day Scheme in
  2007
• Abolishes the cap on vessel numbers, established
  a Total Allowable Effort (TAE) in fishing days
• PNA members may trade days amongst themselves,
  allowing them to take advantage of migration of
  the fishery through the region
• Increased competition among the purse seine
  fleets, allowing increased premium on access

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• A mechanism for domestic vessels of the PNA to
  access the fishing resources of other parties.
• Objectives
• Provide access for domestic vessels to Parties
  waters on terms no less favourable than those
  granted to DWFNs
• Secure maximum sustainable economic benefits from
  tuna resources
• Promote greater participation by nationals of
  Parties in fisheries and assist in development of
  national fisheries industries.

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• Harmonization of fisheries access among members
• Strengthening individual and joint negotiating
  positions
• Reduced capacity for DWFNs to play one coastal
  State off against a neighbouring State
• Collaborative efforts to promote Island-based
  domestic tuna industries and
• Improved data collections for economic and
  biological assessments.

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• Treaty on Cooperation in Fisheries Surveillance
  and Law Enforcement in the South Pacific Region
  (The Niue Treaty, 1992)
• A framework for the FFA members to allow their
  vessels to undertake surveillance and enforcement
  activities in the EEZs of other Parties.
• Bilateral Ship Rider Agreements (Bilateral Law
  Enforcement Agreements )
• Authorises the Island States law enforcement
  officers to board US Coast Guard ships.
• Palau, FSM, Marshall Islands, Kiribati and Cook
  Islands.

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• The US Treaty enables US purse seine fishing
  vessels to fish in the waters of the 16 Pacific
  Island Parties .
• The US Treaty first started in 1987, with the
  last renewal in 2003 and to run for 10 years
  until 2013.
• U.S. fishing industry paid almost 3 million to
  the FFA member States for the right to harvest
  tuna in the South Pacific, in addition to the
  U.S. Governments contribution of 18 million
  annually under the Treaty.

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• Collaboration between SPC and FFA
• SPC-OFP provides the data assimilation and stock
  appraisal information and advice
• FFA provides complementary market, economic,
  policy and management advice.
• Significant gaps in fisheries management in the
  high seas and East Asia/West Pacific States
  region.
• Article III(2) of the FFA Convention
• require the establishment of additional
  international machinery to provide for
  co-operation between all coastal States in the
  region and all States involved in the harvesting
  of such resources.

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• Generally reflects the provisions of the UN FSA
  and the special characteristics of the WCPO
  region.
• Addresses problems in the management of high seas
  fisheries by incorporating a precautionary
  principle, ecosystem considerations and
  decision-making based on the best available
  scientific information.
• Four subsidiary bodies
• Finance and Administration Committee
• Scientific Committee
• Technical and Compliance Committee
• Northern Committee
• IWG-ROP and AHTG Data.
• In 2009, the Commission has 25 Members, 7
  Participating Territories, and 5 Cooperating
  Non-members.
• Secretariat Kolonia, Pohnpei, Federated States
  of Micronesia

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• SPC and FFA Secretariat supported FFA member
  States throughout the MHLC and PrepCon processes.
  
• This support has continued and has been enhanced
  during the WCPFC meetings.
• FFA Secretariat views support as important part
  of its efforts to increase national capacity and
  strengthen regional solidarity.

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• For almost 30 years, Pacific Island States,
  working with the SPC and the FFA, have
  proactively developed collaborative management
  arrangements for valuable tuna stocks.
• Support provided by FFA and SPC has been a major
  driver for the effective engagement of Pacific
  Island States in the new institutional
  environment of the WCPFC.
• Coastal States, including ACP members, would find
  organizations similar to the SPC and FFA
  invaluable as they implement development
  aspirations for high seas fisheries.