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CCAMLR: The Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living ResourcesWhile the objectives of CCAMLR are good, it has proven incapable of enforcing conservation and management measures to protect the Southern Ocean.
The Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) is responsible for fisheries management in the Southern Ocean. The Convention came into force in 1982. While the objectives of CCAMLR are good, it has proven incapable of enforcing conservation and management measures to protect the Southern Ocean. Over the past few years CCAMLR and its member governments have lost control of fisheries in the Southern Ocean. Illegal and unregulated fishing is completely undermining attempts to conserve the biodiversity of the Southern Ocean. There are 23 member nations of CCAMLR. They are Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, European Community, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Russian Federation, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom, USA and Uruguay. CCAMLR meets annually in Hobart, Australia in November. The greatest threat to the Southern Ocean, and thus the biggest challenge facing CCAMLR, is illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing. IUU or “pirate” fishing is driving the Patagonian Toothfish toward extinction. At CCAMLR XVII in 1998, Australia's Environment Minister, Senator Robert Hill, highlighted the need at the meeting for urgent action to stop illegal fishing: "If the plunder continues, the world will lose a valuable natural and economic resource as stocks in fishing ground after fishing ground crash to commercial extinction. Illegal fishers are also killing huge numbers of seabirds, including thousands of endangered albatrosses. Stocks and ecosystems are unlikely to recover for decades, if at all." CCAMLR estimated at its eighteenth annual meeting in 1999 that in most areas 30-100% of the Toothfish catch is taken by illegal and unregulated longliners. The main importers of Patagonian Toothfish are Japan and the USA, where they fetch up to US$1000 each. Despite a general recognition of the serious problems the Southern Ocean is facing from pirate fishing, CCAMLR has failed to take tough action to eradicate this threat. At the 1998 meeting, despite serious concerns from countries such as Australia, New Zealand and the USA, the only measure agreed to was mandatory vessel monitoring systems. Unfortunately this measure will not take effect until the end of 2000 and on its own does little to halt illegal fishing. A major problem with CCAMLR is that it operates on a consensus basis and many of the `problem' countries are in fact CCAMLR members. This enables them to hinder CCAMLR in making any real progress to stop illegal fishing. It appears that the EU and Spain are the main protectors of illegal fishing. At the 1999 meeting, CCAMLR agreed to a Catch Documentation Scheme (CDS) for Toothfish. As a long- term measure towards better management of Southern Ocean fisheries the CDS may prove useful. It requires CCAMLR members to ensure all Toothfish entering their markets comes from a certified source, that is, caught in accordance with CCAMLR conservation measures. Unfortunately CCAMLR’s CDS on its own does not ensure this. It requires the broader membership and established implementation mechanisms of an international trade monitoring and regulatory body, which CCAMLR does not have. Greenpeace believes that the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora [CITES] is the body which has precisely those characteristics. IUU fishing is largely carried out by vessels that fly the flag of countries that are not members of CCAMLR. However, the financial rewards often flow back to companies based in CCAMLR countries. More than 90% of the market for Toothfish is currently in CCAMLR member countries, mostly Japan and the US. CCAMLR can ban the international trade in illegally caught Patagonian toothfish by the establishment of a certificate of origin system. Such a system would require government authorities to validate the origin and legality of all exports and imports of Patagonian toothfish. CCAMLR considered a certificate-of-origin proposal at the November 1998 meeting, but the proposal was not passed. The European Union hosted a meeting in Brussels in April 1999 to consider ways of regulating the international trade in Patagonian Toothfish. However, this was a consultative meeting and had no decision-making powers. During 1999, the Australian Government prepared and circulated to a range states a proposal to protect Patagonian toothfish under CITES. CITES only meets every two to three years and the next meeting will be in April 2000, in Kenya. One hundred and fifty countries are party to the CITES convention. It is well established and members have domestic procedures in place to enforce the trade regulations they agree to. Unfortunately, the Australian government decided that with CCAMLR’s CDS agreed, it need not now pursue Toothfish listing under CITES. But CITES, with its much greater membership than CCAMLR is the essential underpinning for the CDS. It includes all the states involved in Toothfish trade or which provide potential new markets, such as China and Thailand. CCAMLR is restricted to its 23 members, and alone cannot therefore oblige non-members to participate in the CDS. Greenpeace calls on CCAMLR to support the following initiatives to stop illegal fishing in the Southern Ocean: Moratorium and International Trade Ban Greenpeace believes CCAMLR should declare and enforce a moratorium on fishing for toothfish. The moratorium should stay in place until the IUU fishery has been driven out, the remaining toothfish stocks assessed for their ecological ability to support a commercial fishery, and regulations are in place to adequately manage “resumed” fisheries. This moratorium needs to be supported by a trade ban in toothfish, that would require toothfish to be listed for protection on CITES Appendix 1, that is, no international trade. Mandatory Vessel Monitoring Systems Immediate implementation of satellite-linked vessel monitoring systems to allow governments to track all legal fishing vessels operating in the Southern Oceans. All fishing vessels entering the Southern Ocean must be required to install vessel monitoring systems. CCAMLR has agreed on this measure but it will not take effect until the end of 2000. Denial of port access to illegal fishing vessels All countries must ban illegal fishing vessels from using their ports. Ships without vessel monitoring systems and proof that they are legally fishing must be banned from non- emergency port access. |
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