Report of the Thirty-Fifth Meeting of the Commission
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CCAMLR-XXXV COMMISSION FOR THE CONSERVATION OF ANTARCTIC MARINE LIVING RESOURCES REPORT OF THE THIRTY-FIFTH MEETING OF THE COMMISSION HOBART, AUSTRALIA 17–28 OCTOBER 2016 CCAMLR PO Box 213 North Hobart 7002 Tasmania AUSTRALIA _______________________ Telephone: 61 3 6210 1111 Facsimile: 61 3 6224 8744 Email: [email protected] Chair of the Commission Website: www.ccamlr.org November 2016 ________________________________________________________________________________________ This document is produced in the official languages of the Commission: English, French, Russian and Spanish. Abstract This document is the adopted record of the Thirty-fifth Meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources held in Hobart, Australia, from 17 to 28 October 2016. Major topics discussed at this meeting include: ongoing efforts to establish a sustainable funding base for the organisation; the status of CCAMLR-managed fisheries; the Report of the Thirty-fifth meeting of CCAMLR’s Scientific Committee; illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the Convention Area; CCAMLR fisheries regulatory framework; vulnerable marine ecosystems and bottom fishing; the establishment of a representative system of marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Convention Area, including the establishment of the Ross Sea region MPA and special areas for scientific study in newly exposed marine areas in the vicinity of collapsed ice shelves; precautionary management of the krill fishery, including development of a risk assessment framework to assist in the provision of advice on the spatial distribution of the trigger level; assessment and avoidance of incidental mortality of Antarctic marine living resources; new and exploratory fisheries; the System of Inspection and the Scheme of International Scientific Observation; compliance with conservation measures in force, including the implementation of CCAMLR’s Compliance Evaluation Procedure; review of existing conservation measures and adoption of new conservation measures; future work relating to the further development of CCAMLR’s Catch Documentation Scheme and the Vessel Monitoring System; management under conditions of uncertainty and cooperation with other international organisations, including within the Antarctic Treaty System and agreement to commission a second performance review. The Reports of the Standing Committee on Implementation and Compliance and the Standing Committee on Administration and Finance are appended. ISSN 1031 - 3184 Contents Page Opening of the meeting ...................................................................... 1 Organisation of the meeting ................................................................. 2 Adoption of the agenda .................................................................... 2 Status of the Convention ................................................................... 2 Report of the Chair ......................................................................... 2 Standing Committee on Implementation and Compliance (SCIC) ................... 3 Advice from SCIC .......................................................................... 3 Compliance Evaluation Procedure (CCEP) ........................................... 3 Fishery notifications .................................................................... 3 Catch Documentation Scheme for Dissostichus spp. (CDS) ........................ 4 Compliance with conservation measures in force .................................... 5 Proposals for new and revised measures ........................................... 5 Conservation Measure 10-05 .................................................... 5 Conservation Measure 51-06 .................................................... 5 Conservation Measure 32-18 .................................................... 6 Conservation Measure 25-02 .................................................... 7 Conservation Measure 10-09 .................................................... 7 Discards and offal management .................................................... 8 Advice from the Scientific Committee ................................................ 9 Current level of IUU fishing ........................................................... 10 IUU vessel lists .......................................................................... 10 Other SCIC business .................................................................... 10 Standing Committee on Administration and Finance (SCAF) ........................ 10 Advice from SCAF ......................................................................... 10 Report of the Scientific Committee ........................................................ 11 Harvested species ........................................................................... 11 Krill resources ........................................................................... 11 Feedback management system ......................................................... 12 Fish resources ........................................................................... 15 Exploratory finfish fisheries and research in data-poor fisheries and closed fisheries ....................................................................... 16 Consideration of research in SSRUs 882 A–B ........................................... 19 Assessment and avoidance of non-target catch including incidental mortality of seabirds and marine mammals ................................. 20 Fish and invertebrate by-catch ......................................................... 20 Seabirds and marine mammals ......................................................... 20 Marine debris ............................................................................ 20 Bottom fishing and vulnerable marine ecosystems ................................... 21 Marine protected areas ..................................................................... 21 Climate change ............................................................................. 24 Scientific research exemption ............................................................. 25 Capacity building ........................................................................... 25 Priorities of the Scientific Committee .................................................... 26 CCAMLR Scheme of International Scientific Observation ............................ 26 Impacts of climate change on the conservation of Antarctic marine living resources ...................................................................... 27 Conservation measures ...................................................................... 29 Review of existing measures .............................................................. 29 Revised conservation measures ........................................................... 30 Compliance .............................................................................. 30 Vessel licencing ...................................................................... 30 Catch Documentation Scheme for Dissostichus spp. (CDS) ..................... 31 Schemes to promote compliance ................................................... 31 Compliance Evaluation Procedure ................................................. 31 General fishery matters ................................................................. 32 Fishery notifications ................................................................. 32 Data reporting ........................................................................ 32 Incidental mortality of seabirds in the course of longline fishing ................ 32 Krill ................................................................................... 32 New conservation measures for 2016/17 ................................................. 33 General fishery matters ................................................................. 33 Fishing seasons, closed areas and prohibition of fishing ......................... 33 By-catch limits ....................................................................... 33 Toothfish ............................................................................. 33 Icefish ................................................................................. 34 Krill ................................................................................... 34 Other fishery matters ................................................................ 35 Time-limited Special Areas for Scientific Study .................................. 35 Ross Sea region MPA ............................................................... 35 Proposals for new conservation measures ................................................ 52 Marine protected areas .................................................................. 52 East Antarctica ....................................................................... 52 Weddell Sea .......................................................................... 54 Implementation of Convention objectives ................................................ 56 The objectives of the Convention ......................................................... 56 Performance review ........................................................................ 57 The meaning of conservation in the context of Article II of the Convention .......... 58 CCAMLR’s regulatory framework and activities targeting toothfish .................. 60 Independent reviews of CCAMLR stock assessments .................................. 61 Cooperation