The European Commission has welcomed the adoption of a Convention for the setting up of a new regional fisheries management organisation (RFMO), to manage non-tuna fish stocks in the South Pacific, in Auckland, New Zealand.
This Convention will fill in the large gap that currently exists in the international conservation and management of non-highly migratory fisheries and in the protection of biodiversity in the marine environment in the high seas areas of the South Pacific Ocean.
The Convention is the fruit of the efforts by several States from the West and East Pacific as well as by a number of major long-distance fishing nations.
The new Convention covers a vast area including the waters from the most western parts of the South Pacific towards the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of South America
The fish species regulated under the new Convention are demersal and pelagic including jack mackerel, orange roughy, oreos, alfonsino, and bluenose.
The conclusion of this Convention means that the States from the region and those with long distance fishing fleets share the same concerns and the same goals: to ensure the sustainability of their activities and the durability of the fishing resources in a balanced marine environment.
The major fishing nations for pelagic species are Chile (EEZ plus high seas), China, the EU, Korea, Russia, Vanuatu, the Faroe Islands (high seas) and Peru (EEZ).
The Convention will be open for signature from 1st January 2010 and should enter into force in two to three years’ time.
The South Pacific is one of the few remaining parts of the oceans which have not yet been regulated by an RFMO for non-tuna species.
