E - Iccat

ICCAT REPORT 2002-2003 (II)
Whaling Commission (IWC), Commission International de la Pêche Sportive (CIPS), Organization for the
Promotion of Responsible Tuna Fisheries (OPRT), Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA), Wildlife Conservation
Society (WCS), Wrigley Institute of Environmental Studies (WIES), and World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The list
of Observers is included in the List of Participants (ANNEX 2).
5. Election of the Executive Secretary
The Commission Chairman announced on 24 November 2003 that Mr. Driss Meski of Morocco had been elected
as the next Executive Secretary of the Commission, and he extended his congratulations. Mr. Meski thanked the
Commission for its confidence in him and stated that he will do his utmost to succeed in this important mission.
Mr. Meski also paid tribute to the other candidates who had applied for the position, and to Dr. Adolfo Lima, the
out-going Executive Secretary. The Commission Delegates also congratulated Mr. Meski (see ANNEX 3.6).
6. Decisions for improving the organization of Commission meetings
The Commission Chairman reviewed his decisions for improving the organization of Commission meetings and
indicated that his proposals would be distributed in writing after the meeting, and he encouraged feedback in
writing after that time. Mr. Miyahara summarized his decisions as follows:
– Duration of meeting. The practices applied at the 2003 meeting, including no verbal opening statements and
maintaining a deadline for new proposals, should be continued. In addition, he indicated that the 2004
Commission meeting would be shortened (Monday to Sunday).
– New proposals. Delegates should present proposals (or at least the intention to do so) in advance of the
meeting.
– Openness of process. The Chairman agreed that the openness of the meetings could be improved upon and
made proposals to be studied for next year. He stated that simultaneous interpretation in the three official
languages of the Commission should be available for any open discussion, and suggested that in the interest
of time this might be accomplished by using concurrent sessions. He recognized that this could pose problems
for small delegations, and that it would require additional resources (people, facilities and funding) for
simultaneous interpretation. He asked the Secretariat to study this. He emphasized that while this issue should
be studied for 2004, it might not be possible to implement all measures for the 2004 meeting.
– Social functions. The Commission Chairman asked that Wednesday to Friday of the Commission meeting
week be kept free of social functions. This is a critical period in the week for the Commission to have
uninterrupted time for work.
7. Report of the 3 rd Meeting of the Working Group to Develop Integrated Monitoring Measures
At the opening Plenary session, this Agenda item was deferred to the Compliance Committee.
During the Final Plenary Session, the Chairman of the Compliance Committee noted that despite very weak
participation (only nine Contracting Parties and one Cooperating non-Contracting Party, Entity or Fishing
Entity), the Working Group made progress in 2003, but has not yet completed its task. The Report of the 3 rd
Meeting of the Working Group to Develop Integrated Monitoring Measures (ANNEX 4.1) was adopted by
consensus, and the Commission agreed to maintain this Working Group and to include an item on the 2004
Commission meeting Agenda relative to this Working Group.
The Commission adopted the following Recommendations, by consensus:
– Recommendation by ICCAT Concerning the Duties of Contracting Parties and Cooperating non-
Contracting Parties, Entities or Fishing Entities in Relation to their Vessels Fishing in the ICCAT
Convention Area (see ANNEX 5 [Ref. 03-12]).
– Recommendation by ICCAT Concerning the Recording of Catch by Fishing Vessels in the ICCAT
Convention Area (see ANNEX 5 [Ref. 03-13]).
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