Zone covered by the South Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement. (Map: FAO)
SIOFA strengthens sustainable fishery measures in Indian Ocean
EUROPEAN UNION
Wednesday, July 18, 2018, 22:40 (GMT + 9)
The fifth meeting of the parties of the South Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement (SIOFA) achieved significant progress on many fronts that will strengthen the organisation and help ensure the sustainable use of fish stocks in the South Indian Ocean, the European Union informed.
At the meeting, held in Phuket, Thailand, SIOFA for the first time designated five areas as interim protected areas, following EU proposals. These areas have been provisionally closed to trawling, and the scientific observer coverage for trap and line fishing increased from 20 per cent to 100 per cent, until science-based management plans have been developed for each of them.
Work will now continue to strengthen the designation process of protected areas and allow meaningful and tailor-made management plans in SIOFA protected areas to be adopted and carried out.
The EU had also tabled several proposals to reinforce monitoring, control and surveillance. As a result, SIOFA decided to develop a vessel monitoring system by 2020 and to introduce entry-exit reports for all SIOFA registered vessels moving in and out of the Agreement area. In addition, the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing was strengthened, with new provisions introducing the cross-listing of IUU vessels across regional fisheries management organisations.
In a bid to strengthen SIOFA’s effectiveness, and based on a joint proposal from Australia and the EU, parties agreed to introduce a compliance monitoring scheme. This is an important step towards improving compliance with SIOFA conservation and management measures.
Parties also agreed to amend the rules on data provision, making scientific observer data compulsory. This will significantly improve SIOFA’s scientific work and strengthen the scientific advice underpinning its decision-making.
Finally, following an EU proposal, SIOFA adopted specific provisions for plastics disposal on board fishing vessels in accordance with the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, MARPOL.
Currently, SIOFA has nine contracting parties: Australia, the Cook Islands, the European Union, France on behalf of its Indian Ocean Territories, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mauritius, the Seychelles and Thailand. Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique and New Zealand are also signatories, but have not ratified it.
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