Cooperation on oceans management across regions and sectors Kjartan Hoydal, Secretary NEAFC

1. Seas the futureNordic Oceans Conference, 7 & 8 June 2011The Nordic House, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands Cooperation on oceans management across regions and sectors Kjartan Hoydal, Secretary NEAFC Website: www.neafc.org

2. NEAFC Regulatory Area (orange)

3. Regional cooperation in the North-East Atlantic Coastal states • Coastal states cooperate on stocks that straddle into international waters. • This is the case for the pelagic complex: • Blue whiting: EU, Faroe Islands, Iceland and Norway • Mackerel: EU, Faroe Islands, Iceland and Norway • Norwegian spring spawning (Atlanto-Scandian) herring EU, Faroe Islands, Iceland, Norway and the Russian Federation • The pelagic redfish in the Irminger Sea Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands

4. The NEAFC mandate in fisheries management and biodiversity conservation • The Contracting Parties of NEAFC updated the 1980 Convention in 2004 and 2006 ( to bring it into line with developments in international law). • The revised provisions of the Convention give NEAFC, in addition to sustainable fisheries management, a clear mandate to address the impacts of fisheries on marine ecosystems, as well as conserving marine biological diversity.

5. Science in the North East Atlantic in place • ICES, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, is the repository of scientific and technical data for the North East Atlantic, data which underpin scientific advice on fishery management and management of other human activities with an impact on the oceans. • All NE Atlantic fisheries jurisdictions cooperate in ICES and NEAFC buys all its science from ICES

6. Monitoring, Control and Enforcement • Control and Enforcement are crucial. Without this regulations do not make sense. • Efficient control of Contracting Party vessels has been in place since 1999. IUU fishing has been addressed efficiently with blacklisting and port control measures The objective is to protect the rights of legal fishermen, operating under national and regional, fisheries management, against free riders • Major IUU problems in the NEAFC Convention area were IUU fishing by flags of convenience vessels for redfish in the Irminger sea and unreported catches of cod from the Barents sea

7. Other measures regulating the impact of fisheries • Area closures; MPAs. The first 5 created in 2004, much expanded in 2009. • NEAFC has prohibited fisheries with gillnets, entangling nets and trammel nets in depths below 200 m and introduced measures to remove and dispose of unmarked or illegal fixed gear and retrieve lost gear to minimise ghost fishing. •  In July 2008 NEAFC adopted additional measures, on bottom fishing activities in the NEAFC Regulatory Area. These were supplemented at its 2008 Annual Meeting with specific operational procedures.

8. Cooperating with other organisations with a mandate to regulate human activity • In September 2008 NEAFC signed a Memorandum of Understanding with its environmental counterpart in the North East Atlantic, the OSPAR Commission (for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic) • NEAFC has signed terms of Agreement with the IMO and is discussing a MoU with the ISA • A network of agreements of cooperation in the North East Atlantic - between existing organisations with a mandate to regulate human activities in the ocean - will in the short and medium term offer the best opportunity to achieve the correct balance between optimum utilisation and conservation in the North East Atlantic.

9. RSN

10. The Regional Fishery Body Secretariats Network • The Regional Fishery Body Secretariats Network (RSN) is an informal consortium of secretariats representing up to 50 regional fisheries bodies (RFBs) responsible for inland, coastal, near coast and oceanic fisheries in all parts of the world. • It provides a forum for promoting dialogue and consultation. RSN serves to underpin the important role played by RFBs in the conservation and management of fisheries. FAO supports the RSN

11. The Regional Fishery Body Secretariats Network • FAO serves as the secretariat to the RFB Secretariats Network that meets biennially immediately after FAO’s Committee on Fisheries meeting. • The RSN provides a valuable international resource for disseminating information and discussing regional and sub-regional experiences associated with it.

12. UN General Assembly prescriptive role • There is too much duplication and repetition with respect to ocean matters in the UN family and the focus is seriously wrong. I have, representing a small RFMO, had to participate in discussions in FAO (where the expertise on substance in fisheries and the ecosystem approach is firmly residing) in 3-4 meetings at UN, meetings at regional level with other RFMOs and RSOs and lately to some extent have had to follow developments in CBD and UNEP. • The political focus in UNGA is completely wrong. Focus has been on deep sea fisheries in the high seas, a problem of little global importance. The main fisheries and biodiversity problems are in freshwater, coastal and near coast waters. It is there resources and policy discussions are needed.

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