Brussels Rural Development Briefings Briefing session n

1
Brussels Rural Development Briefings Briefing
session n10 Fighting against Illegal,
Unreported and Unregulated fishing (IUU)
Impacts and challenges for ACP countries 29th
April, BrusselsThe role of an ACP regional
organisation in fighting IUU fishing
CRFMprepared by Terrence PhillipsCRFM
Secretariat
2
Outline

• Map of the Caribbean
• Importance of the fisheries sector in the
  CARIFORUM/CARICOM Region
• Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM)
• Current IUU fishing issues
• EC regulation and the challenges for its
  implementation
• Main elements of the MCS strategy
• Role of the CRFM in fighting IUU fishing
• Conclusion

3
Map of the Caribbean
4
Fisheries sector - in the CARICOM/CARIFORUM
region

• Employs over 182,000 persons, directly or
  indirectly, who are mainly from small scale
  fisheries in rural communities which lack other
  income earning opportunities.
• Produced approximately 195,000 MT, with an
  estimated value of
• over US500 million (2000).
• Earns over US 150 million per year from export.
  
• Is a major source of protein , especially in
  rural communities.

5
Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM)

• Inaugurated 26 March 2003 in Belize (HQ).
  Eastern Caribbean Office St. Vincent and the
• Grenadines
•  
• Members Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The
  Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada,
  Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and
  Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines,
  Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and the Turks and
  Caicos Islands.
• Mission to promote and facilitate the
  responsible utilization of the regions fisheries
  and other aquatic resources for the economic and
  social benefits of the current and future
  population of the region.
• Objectives
•  
• -    the efficient management and sustainable
  development of marine and other aquatic resources
  within the jurisdiction of Member States
•  
• -     the promotion and establishment of
  cooperative arrangements among interested States
  for the efficient management of shared,
  straddling or highly migratory marine and other
  aquatic resources
•  
• -      the provision of technical advisory and
  consultative services to fisheries divisions of
  Member States in the development, management and
  conservation of their marine and other aquatic
  resources.
•  

6
Current IUU fishing issues

• Full extent of IUU fishing in the
  CARICOM/CARIFORUM region is not quantified.
• Poaching is a significant problem in countries
  with high value species such as conch and lobster
  stocks in Belize, Jamaica and The Bahamas shrimp
  in Guyana and Suriname and tunas in the Eastern
  Caribbean Islands.
• Throughout the region, the capability for MCS is
  inadequate to ensure compliance with existing
  legislation and regulations.
• Non-compliance by national and foreign fishers
  with the conditions of their licenses.
• Inadequate capacity of flag states to effectively
  monitor flagged vessels operating on the high
  seas.
• Insufficient awareness among stakeholders and the
  public at large about the negative effects of IUU
  fishing.
• Inadequate regional cooperation and coordination
  in MCS operations.

7
The EC regulation and the challenges for its
implementation

• The catch certification system
• Will apply to the EU countries in Europe as well
  as territories in the Caribbean, including
  Martinique and Guadeloupe which are particularly
  important markets for some of the OECS states.
• Will apply to all fish imports regardless of the
  way they enter the EU market whether it be from
  landings in ports, air cargo, sea container,
  trucks or other means.
• As a minimum, the flag state will have to have in
  place a mandatory system comprised of (i)
  procedures for registration of fishing vessels
  (ii) procedures for licensing of the vessels to
  permit them to catch the fish they intend to
  export and (iii) procedures for monitoring and
  obtaining catch information from the vessels.
• Member States that already have SPS systems and
  are exporting to the EU will have a capability in
  place from which to build the administration of
  the certification system.
• In some cases, SPS systems are not within the
  fisheries departments, for example, where the
  veterinary services are the competent
  authorities, so it is unlikely that they would
  assume responsibility for this catch
  certification.
• Capability might then have to reside either in
  the fisheries departments, maritime authorities,
  coast guards or marine police.

8
The EC regulation and the challenges for its
implementation contd

• Will require the implementation of appropriate
  legislative and administrative measures to ensure
  compliance.
• Will have to establish the necessary
  administrative capability to monitor and control
  the operations of their fishing vessels and
  implement effective fisheries management
  measures such as fishing authorisations and data
  collection systems.
• Will need to assess their internal systems and
  capability to identify gaps and specific actions
  that might be needed to meet the new EC
  requirements.
• Will require redeployment of human and financial
  resources to establish the required system,
  including preparing legislation and procedural
  documents in cases where they are not already in
  place train staff of the competent (certifying)
  authority and fishermen and strengthen the
  logistical system for licensing and registration,
  and MCS.

9
Main elements of the MCS strategy

• The strategy for effective MCS at the national
  and regional levels would entail a two-pronged
  approach
• Preventive approach to encourage voluntary
  compliance through a process of education and
  awareness to obtain support for fisheries
  management strategies and efforts to combat IUU
  fishing.
• Deterrent/enforcement approach to ensure
  compliance by fishers and other stakeholders who
  resist the regulatory regime.
• The main elements of the Strategy for enhancing
  the effectiveness of MCS would
• include
• Implementation of international instruments,
  including the IPOA IUU.
• Development and implementation of national plans
  of action (NPOAs).
• Establishment or strengthening of regional
  databases and other information systems.
• Strengthening regional fisheries bodies and
  improving their effectiveness.
• Flag states cooperating with other states through
  information exchange and other means to ensure
  compliance.

10
Role of the CRFM in fighting IUU fishing

• The role of the CRFM in combating IUU Fishing
  should include the following
• Encourage ratification, accession, acceptance or
  adoption, where necessary, of the relevant
  international instruments for fisheries
  management and compliance.
• Promote the development of NPOAs to prevent,
  deter and eliminate IUU fishing.
• Promote improved and harmonized fisheries
  legislation throughout the region.
• Promote development of MOUs or other mechanisms
  to share information, surveillance and
  enforcement resources among neighbouring states
  in order to improve surveillance and enforcement.
• Promote the establishment or strengthening of
  regional databases and other information systems,
  including data/information on fishing vessels,
  catch, effort, etc.

11
Role of the CRFM in fighting IUU fishing contd

• Promote collaboration and coordination among
  states, and in particular, regional cooperation
  on port state control.
• Develop a network of national VMS systems to
  track vessels authorized to fish in the EEZs and
  on the high seas.
• Strengthen national and regional institutional
  capacity and infrastructure through the
  assistance of international agencies and
  organizations.
• Promote the implementation of internationally
  agreed market measures.

12
Conclusion

• The similarity in the socio-economic
  importance of fishing to each Member State in
  providing food supply, employment and hard
  currency requires that the fisheries resources
  must be managed in a manner to ensure
  sustainability. IUU fishing is a threat that will
  undoubtedly affect CARIFORUM/CARICOM States
  because it is a significant obstacle to sound
  management of the fishing industry. The responses
  should be through cooperative and coordinated
  measures. The CRFM is well placed to promote
  fisheries management, including the
  implementation of strategies to prevent, deter
  and eliminate IUU fishing. To this effect, the
  CRFM Member State are in the process of
  elaborating a Common Fisheries Policy and
  finalising a Draft Declaration on IUU Fishing.
• At present, the existing MCS and
  enforcement functions are not as effective as
  required due to severe human and financial
  resource constraints within the regions
  fisheries administrations. With the advent of the
  EC regulation to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU
  fishing, this situation will be compounded for
  those Member States exporting to or intending to
  export fish and fish products to the EU. As such,
  the EU needs to take into account the capacity
  constraints facing developing countries and
  regional fisheries bodies and be prepared to
  provide technical assistance and training to such
  countries and bodies to facilitate the
  implementation of the catch certification scheme.