Do you have something constructive to says about EM of fisheries in the Pacific?  / by Francisco Blaha

I been writing at different times on the advances of Electronic Monitoring (EM) in our region and the realities (and limitations) of the use of cameras on board.

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There have been several initiatives by different players. FFA, SPC and PNAO have been variously working on aspects of EM since 2015 with FFA looking at an EM framework, PNAO developing an EM program and SPC looking at EM in the context of scientific data and the minimum data standards of the WCPFC Observer Programme. The task now is to consolidate the work to date into a comprehensive policy framework that can be commonly and widely adopted by the FFA membership. 

For that FFA, SPC and PNAO have developed a consolidated agenda for a member and stakeholder workshop to progress the development of the policy. 

This workshop will take place at the FFA Conference Room at their headquarters in Honiara, the 16 to the 18 October.

While FFA members are included by principle, the workshop is open to all interested stakeholders.

WORKSHOP AIM 

Progress towards the establishment of a regional and national Longline EM framework based on recent governance/policy and technological advancements to ensure compatibility with agreed national, sub regional and regional data requirements and collection strategies. 

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE 

To progress towards the adoption of an agreed EM framework and standards at the WCPFC level for the loogline fishery on the high seas and in EEZs, that is appropriate and cost-effective to members

SCOPE 

This workshop focusses on £-Monitoring for the Longline fishing operation only, acknowledging that EM has the potential to be used in other operations (e.g. end-of-trip longline transhipment) and other fisheries, which will be addressed at a later date.

  1.      Opening address and objectives of the workshop

  2.      Recent governance/policy developments regarding Longline EM in the region

  3.      Potential scientific and compliance use of Longline EM records and data

  4.      Objectives for Longline EM

  5.      Approaches/Protocols for Longline EM implementation

  6.     Current issues in Longline EM implementation by PIC countries

  7.      Recent and future technical developments in Longline EM

  8.     Transition from Longline EM data process standards to the WCPFC Project 93

  9.     Longline EM framework- next steps ...

  10.     Adoption of workshop outcomes

For technical enquiries, please contact Hugh Walton (hugh.walton-at-ffa.int) or Viv Fernandes (vivian.fernandes-at-ffa.int). For participant nominations, please contact Sireta Laore (sireta.laore-at-ffa.int).