Global Legal I nstruments and Regional Fisheries Management Organizations

1. Global Legal Instruments and Regional Fisheries Management Organizations Sebastian Mathew ICSF

2. Global Legal Instruments • 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC) (Article 118 and Article 119) • 1993 Agreement to Promote Compliance with International Conservation and Management Measures by Fishing Vessels on the High Seas • 1995 United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement (UNFSA) • 1995 FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF)

3. Definition of RFMO • ‘Intergovernmental fisheries organizations or arrangements that has the competence to establish fishery conservation and management measures’(2001 IPOA-IUU)

4. Key subjects and issues of importance to RFMOs • Management of fisheries, the application of the ecosystem approach, the minimization of by-catch and IUU fishing, science and research, institutional/organizational matters, application of the precautionary approach, and transparency in decision-making processes

5. Three Categories of RFMOs Based on institutional relationship with FAO: • Established under FAO's Constitution • Established outside the FAO framework but with FAO depository functions • Established outside FAO's framework

6. Established under FAO's Constitution • established under Article XIV of the FAO Constitution • Article XIV bodies (General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), Regional Commission for Fisheries (RECOFI) and Central Asian and Caucasus Regional Fisheries and Aquaculture Commission (CACFish) are generally autonomous

7. Established outside FAO but withFAO depository functions • the Director-General of FAO exercises depositary functions for organizations such as International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization (LVFO), South East Atlantic Fisheries Organization (SEAFO) and South Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement (SIOFA)

8. Established outside FAO's framework • Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT), Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO), North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC), Western Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), and others such as International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC), International Whaling Commission (IWC), North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization (NASCO), North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission (NPAFC), Convention on the Conservation and Management of Pollock Resources in the Central Bering Sea (CCBSP), and South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization (SPRFMO)

9. RFMOs • 20 RFMOs, of which four are under FAO (Article XIV) • One is under the UN Charter: Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization (LVFO) • Two exclusively for inland waters, Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization (LVFO) and Central Asian and Caucasus Regional Fisheries and Aquaculture Commission (CACFish) • One exclusively for marine waters under national jurisdiction-Regional Commission for Fisheries (RECOFI) • Six exclusively for the high seas: NAFO, North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission (NPAFC), Convention on the Conservation and Management of Pollock Resources in the Central Bering Sea (CCBSP), SEAFO, SIOFA, and South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization (SPRFMO) • 11 for national waters and the high seas (of which one focusing exclusively on whales-IWC)

10. RFMOs Performing Allocation • International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) • General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) • Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT) • Regional Commission for Fisheries (RECOFI)

11. RFMOs and IUU Fishing • Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC), Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT), Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO), South East Atlantic Fishery Organization (SEAFO), Western Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC)maintain IUU vessels List and record of fishing vessels

12. RFMOs and small-scale fisheries • General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), Regional Commission for Fisheries (RECOFI), Central Asian and Caucasus Regional Fisheries and Aquaculture Commission (CACFish), Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), and Western Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) • CACFish: transfer appropriate technologies and techniques for the development of small-scale fisheries

13. RFMOs and Aquaculture • General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization (NASCO), Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization (LVFO), Regional Commission for Fisheries (RECOFI), and Central Asian and Caucasus Regional Fisheries and Aquaculture Commission (CACFish)

14. RFMOs and Developing Countries • IOTC and WCPFC have the largest participation of developing countries • Some RFMOs have a special focus on coastal developing States and small island developing States (IOTC, SIOFA)

15. RFMOs and Women in fisheries • Central Asian and Caucasus Regional Fisheries and Aquaculture Commission (CACFish): • promote women's participation in aquaculture and capture fisheries development

16. RFMO Success Stories • Regulatory measures agreed by North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization (NASCO) have led to enormous reductions in fishing effort in North Atlantic • Effectiveness of conservation and management measures for Southern Bluefin Tuna improved as a result of persuading non member nations to join the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT)

17. Challenges ahead for RFMOs • There is perceived lack of action by RFMOs and their inability in some cases to stem stock declines • A lack of political commitment by the members of some RFMOs and unyielding positions incompatible with sound regional fisheries management undermining efforts undertaken within some RFMOs to meet and address conservation and management challenges • Improving RFMO performance • Ensuring effective participation of all stakeholders in decision-making

18. Acknowledgement • Would like to acknowledge FAO website http://www.fao.org/fishery/rfb/search/enand other RFMO sites in the preparation of these slides

19. Thank you