Highlights for Tuesday, 11 December 2007

The Meeting to identify and elaborate an option for international cooperation on migratory sharks under the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), hosted by the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Transport, Government of Seychelles, opened today in Mahé, Seychelles. Selby Remy, Seychelles Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Transport, welcomed participants to the meeting. Opening statements were delivered by: Bernard Sham-Laye, Seychelles Minister for Education, on behalf of Joel Morgan, Seychelles Minister for Environment, Natural Resources and Transport; and Robert Hepworth, CMS Executive Secretary.

Rolph Payet, Seychelles, was elected as Chair of the meeting. CMS Executive Secretary Hepworth introduced the historical background and aims of the meeting. Sarah Fowler, Co-Chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission’s Shark Specialist Group, provided an overview of the conservation status of migratory sharks and factors affecting their long-term survival. John Hilborn, CMS Secretariat, highlighted the activities and legal instruments put in place since the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

CMS Executive Secretary Hepworth then presented the different options for the development of an instrument, including: WSSD type II partnership arrangements; stand-alone action plan(s); non-binding CMS Memorandums of Understanding and Action Plan(s); and a binding CMS Agreement and Action Plan(s).

The meeting split into two working groups to discuss institutional matters, and the scope of the future instrument, respectively. Discussions in these two working groups will continue on Wednesday.