Best practice for managing high seas fisheries

Sustainable management of the world's fisheries needs international commitment and cooperation.

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New Zealand Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton today welcomed a new report that sets out clear guidelines for managing the world's high seas fisheries.

The report outlines current best practices the world's Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) can use to tackle the core challenges of international fisheries management.

"Improving performance of the world's RFMOs is important," Jim Anderton said. "It is apparent that many RFMOs have fallen well short of their objectives to prevent depletion of fish stocks and destruction of marine ecosystems in high seas areas.

"The High Seas Task Force - of which New Zealand was a member - recognised that the world's RFMOs needed to pick up their game if we are to have sustainable management of high seas fisheries. The publication of this report is a step towards achieving this, and New Zealand will now work to progress best practice recommendations within each of the RFMOs to which New Zealand is a member," Jim Anderton said.

The model RFMO report, entitled Recommended Best Practices for Regional Fisheries Management Organizations, was commissioned by the governments of New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom, in partnership with WWF International.

The report covers issues to do with excess capacity in the world's fishing fleets; allocating fishing opportunities on an equitable and sustainable basis; and managing the wider ecosystem effects of fishing.

It was developed by an independent panel hosted by Chatham House in London. It was managed by a director from the Round Table on Sustainable Development at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. The panel comprised experts from relevant disciplines of law, economics, science and policy.

The report is available through the Ministry of Fisheries' website (www.fish.govt.nz) or through Chatham House Publishing (www.chathamhouse.org.uk).

BACKGROUND

There is growing concern over the state of world fisheries. There is also increasing international attention on the problem of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and its role in fish stock depletion. In response, the international community has been making significant efforts to improve the performance of the Regional Fisheries Management Organisations set up to manage high seas fisheries (those fisheries that lie outside of nations' Exclusive Economic Zones).


Key initiatives include:

. The Ministerially-led Task Force on IUU Fishing on the High Seas, which included the New Zealand Minister of Fisheries, launched its final report in March 2006. This included a proposal to develop a model for improved governance by RFMOs

. The UN Fish Stocks Review Conference in May 2006 agreed that RFMOs should undergo performance reviews on an urgent basis. Independent evaluation was required, and results would be made publicly available

. The December 2006 UN General Assembly Resolution on Sustainable Fisheries also called upon countries to develop and apply best practice guidelines for RFMOs, and to undertake performance reviews of RFMOs

. In January 2007, work was initiated to develop a common methodology and set of criteria for assessing the performance of the five tuna RFMOs. This resulted in an agreed set of criteria being circulated in May 2007

. At the meeting in March 2007 of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization Committee on Fisheries, member countries agreed that all RFMOs needed to undertake performance reviews. It was also recognised that RFMOs should themselves determine the criteria, methodology, and frequency of such reviews.

More information on RFMOs and the management of high seas fishing can be found on www.fish.govt.nz/en-nz/International/High+Seas+Fishing/default.htm