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Monday, 22 May
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Opening of the Conference
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Vladimir Golitsyn, Director of the UN Division for Oceans Affairs and
the Law of the Sea (UNDOALOS), opened the meeting.
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Lori Ridgeway, Canada, introduced the nomination of Amb. David Balton,
US, as President of the Conference, which participants approved by
acclamation.
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President Balton noted the powerful role of the Agreement in influencing
fisheries management since its entry into force, and pointed out the need
to improve the status of the resources.
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Opening of the Conference
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Liu Zheng, China, expressed concern about joining consensus on the provisional
rules, suggesting that they remain provisional and decisions for matters
of substance be made by consensus.
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Mario Aguilar, Mexico, asserted that parties and non-parties should
participate on a full and equal footing.
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Louis Simard, Canada, noted that agreement on the provisional rules had
been achieved at ICSP-5, and preferred to work toward general agreement.
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Plenary
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Serge Beslier, European Community, called for strengthening regional
approaches to collective fisheries management and broadening the coverage
of RFMOs.
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Famoudou Magassouba, Guinea, emphasized the need to increase the
membership of the Agreement.
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Papua New Guinea, on behalf of the Pacific Islands Forum, stressed
improving implementation, increasing participation, addressing IUU
fishing, and providing development assistance.
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Joji Morishita, Japan, reported on progress in the national process to
join UNFSA, and informed participants of a joint meeting of tuna RFMOs
in early 2007 in Japan.
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E. Jinadasa, Sri Lanka, prioritized addressing IUU fishing.
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Narmoko Prasmadji, Indonesia, suggested the Review Conference formulate
incentives for non-parties to join UNFSA, rather than developing further
obligations that may prevent them from joining.
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Stuart Beck, Palau called for interim measures to prohibit unregulated bottom
trawling, modeled after the General Assembly resolution 44/225 on
driftnet fishing.
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Carlos Duarte, Brazil, supported a full bottom trawling moratorium in
areas beyond national jurisdiction.
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Hosung Lee, Republic of Korea, noted ongoing discussions on a possible new
RFMO to manage high seas bottom trawling and related marine biodiversity
issues in the northwest Pacific Ocean.
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William Hogarth, International Commission for the Conservation of
Atlantic Tuna, highlighted challenges in data collection and reporting
and in implementing science-based management programmes.
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Vaughn Charles, Saint Lucia, called for additional assistance in
implementing the Agreement.
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Javier Garat Pérez, International Coalition of Fisheries
Associations, expressed support for governments' actions on IUU fishing
and development of new RFMOs and other arrangements to fill gaps in
oceans management.
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Alistair Graham, WWF, called for interim arrangements on destructive
fishing practices and true commitment to implementing the ecosystem approach.
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Andrew Wright, Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission reported on
regional initiatives in implementation of the agreement, highlighting
concerns over continuing capacity increases and scientific data gaps.
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Feleti Teo, Pacific Islands Forum, underlined the importance of the
effective participation of small island developing States in the
implementation of the Western and Central Pacific Ocean Fish Stocks
Convention.
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Nigel Fyfe, New Zealand, called for including the extent of application of
best scientific evidence available and the precautionary approach in
performance assessments of RFMOs and States.
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James Larsen, Australia, lamented RFMOs' lack of focus on stocks
other than target stocks and on by-catch, and advocated consistency and
complementarity of measures across the RFMO network.
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IUCN called for extending coverage of measures to those stocks not
currently covered, taking measures to eliminate destructive fishing
practices, including high seas bottom trawling, and abolishing
provisions allowing states to opt out of management measures.
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Lisa Speer, Natural Resources Defense Council, called for the development
of terms of reference for a regular, transparent assessment of RFMOs and
their effectiveness in implementing the terms of the Agreement.
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Duncan Currie, Greenpeace, opposed the proposal to develop FAO guidelines
for the management of high seas discrete stocks, preferring to bring all
high seas stocks within the scope of UNFSA.
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William Gibbons-Fly, US, proposed that management organizations develop
plans to reduce fishing capacity to bring it into line with fisheries
resource availability, by 2012 for straddling stocks, and by 2007 for
highly migratory stocks.
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Drafting Committee
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During an evening drafting session, chaired by Fernando Curcio, Spain,
delegates considered language underlining the broad recognition of UNFSA
as the main guiding legal instrument for the conservation and management
of the two kinds of fish stocks and as a positive tool for RFMOs to
develop new strategies. They also debated whether to include reference
to discrete stocks and to the need to generally apply the precautionary
approach. Discussions continued into the night.
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