E - Iccat

ICCAT REPORT 2012-2013 (I)
The Chair encouraged Canada and the EU to work toward the development of a common text. One CPC
suggested that the stocks be treated separately and that Canada consider an accelerated recovery plan for the
stock in the Northwest. Several CPCs expressed concern regarding the proposal that different management
measures be applied in the EEZ versus high seas as proposed by Canada. One CPC suggested that a retention
ban would be difficult to implement for porbeagle without a fins-attached requirement, given that porbeagle
sharks can be difficult to distinguish from shortfin mako.
The EU proposal was referred to Plenary for further discussion. During the Plenary session, the EU reported that
despite efforts made by both the EU and Canada, and taking into account concerns by other CPCs, agreement
could not be reached. The EU expressed their concern and left their original proposal (with one minor
modification) on the table. Canada also expressed their disappointment that ICCAT was not in a position to
adopt a recommendation on porbeagle sharks and that they intend to revisit their proposal in 2013. The United
States suggested that the SCRS should do a thorough review of relevant scientific information on porbeagle
sharks and provide comprehensive advice to the Commission.
6.2.5 Shortfin mako
The EU tabled their proposal, “Draft Recommendation by ICCAT on Shortfin Mako Caught in Association with
ICCAT Fisheries”. The EU noted that shortfin mako sharks were recognized as the second most vulnerable
species by the recent SCRS ecological risk assessment and that given uncertainty in the recent stock assessment,
fishing mortality should not be increased. EU’s proposal would limit each CPC’s annual landings to an average
from 2004-2011.
Japan, China and Korea said that they saw no need to introduce catch limits given that the recent stock
assessment determined that shortfin mako sharks were not overfished or experiencing overfishing. The United
States expressed support for the EU’s proposal, noting that it was consistent with the principles of decisionmaking
(Recommendation 11-13) and that the Commission should not wait to adopt catch limits until the stock
was depleted. Others indicated that they had concerns about the reference years used to calculate catch limits,
particularly given some CPCs’ efforts to improve data collection for shortfin mako following the adoption of
Rec. 10-06.
Following informal discussions, the EU informed the Panel that they were withdrawing the proposal due to an
inability to reach consensus on several elements of the proposal. The EU expressed their disappointment that
consensus could not be reached, due primarily to the fact that a number of CPCs opposed the proposal because
they felt that a recommendation is not needed since shortfin mako is not overfished and overfishing is not
occurring. The EU noted that they believe that ICCAT has a clear responsibility to maintain shortfin mako shark
stocks at sustainable levels.
6.2.6 Shark reporting
The EU tabled a “Draft Recommendation by ICCAT on Compliance with Existing Measures on Shark
Conservation and Management”, a proposal designed to improve reporting on the implementation and
compliance with existing ICCAT Recommendations for sharks and gather general information on sharks, as
reported to FAO. The Secretariat commented that previous efforts to compare information with the FAO
statistics were inconclusive, complicated, and time consuming. Many CPCs expressed concern with the FAO
paragraph, and it was eliminated.
The EU circulated an amended proposal that added Recommendations 04-10 and 07-06 to the first operative
paragraph in order to provide a more comprehensive report and deleted the paragraph referring to FAO data.
The amended proposal was agreed upon by consensus and the “Draft Recommendation by ICCAT on
Compliance with Existing Measures on Shark Conservation and Management” was forwarded to Plenary for
adoption (see ANNEX 5 [Rec. 12-05]).
6.3 Southern swordfish
The Chair introduced “Draft Recommendation by ICCAT on South Atlantic Swordfish Catch Limits”, which
amended Recommendation 09-03, Recommendation by ICCAT on South Atlantic Swordfish Catch Limit to
establish a TAC for 2013 for one year until the swordfish stock assessment is completed next year. The measure
was adopted by consensus and forwarded to Plenary for adoption (see ANNEX 5 [Rec. 12-01]).
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