SEA Alliance Support – Letter to South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization

22 January 2024

The SEA Alliance has supported a collaborative letter to the Heads of Delegation of Members (and CNCPs1) to the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization

The letter requests that State Members and CNCPs take the following actions at the forthcoming 12th Annual meeting, which will be held in Manta, Ecuador, in January 2024:

• Fully support the introduction of labour issues to the SPRFMO agenda by creating a specialized working group and establishing the first CMM on establishing basic guidelines for the RFMO members and the CNCP on the safety and equitable treatment of crew members who work in the Convention area, in alignment with proposals by Australia, Ecuador, New Zealand, and the US.
• Amend the Jumbo Flying Squid CMM to progressively increase onboard observer coverage to 20%, as Australia and New Zealand have suggested. This topic has been discussed extensively in SPRFMO Commission meetings for years, but decisions have been
  postponed several times. It is urgent that the SPRFMO adopt a final decision.
• Fully discuss the five proposals on increasing monitoring, control, and surveillance to fight against IUU fishing in the jumbo flying squid fishery. For example, one of the proposals calls for an increase in data requirements for monitoring transshipments at sea; this is highly relevant for squid markets that urgently need more available and transparent information to allow companies to make informed decisions to avoid sourcing from fishing companies involved in IUU fishing.

You can read the full letter here.

Note:

As a collective voice the SEA Alliance will in specific instances support and engage with advocacy initiatives. The SEA Alliance will also make statements and respond when there are concerns about ethical issues in the supply chain.

These advocacy initiatives will always be supported by the great majority of SEA Alliance participants but they do not necessarily represent the views of every participant organisation on every occasion.

For further information please contact seaa@seafish.co.uk